CENTRAL SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A second food market is now open in downtown Colorado Springs, and its arrival marks the first steps of Elevate Downtown — a plan proposed by the Downtown Partnership and approved by City Council in May.
Chef James Africano, owner of Urban Grocer and the Warehouse Restaurant, said he had his eye on the space across the street from Weidner Field for years.
"This space was made to be a grocery store for downtown. It's been a part of the plan for downtown to add more food options," Africano said.
The market offers meats, produce, and premade meals to name a few — and Africano said keeping residents close is the whole point.
"We want to keep people downtown. There's so many people living down here now. I don't want them to have to run outside of here to go get things," Africano said.
Chelsea Gondeck, CEO of the Downtown Partnership, said the opening reflects how much the area has changed in recent years.
"We've seen a doubling of our residents in the last couple of years, so being able to provide more grocery options to them is just super exciting," Gondeck said.
She said the opening offers a glimpse into the future of downtown — one that looks less like a traditional business district and more like a living neighborhood.
"As opposed to really being the central business district where you're seeing a lot of activity between 8 and 5 with workers coming in for the day and leaving for the evening we're now seeing more of an 18 to 24 hour vibe in downtown," Gondeck said.
Gondeck said the Elevate Downtown plan aims to bring the kinds of everyday amenities that make a neighborhood feel complete.
"I need a hardware store or I need a pharmacy and so a lot of the desire out of Elevate is to bring those additional amenities, so that people don't have to hop in a car, don't have to go to another part of town if downtown is their neighborhood," Gondeck said.
She said the Downtown Partnership expects that growth to continue.
"We foresee that downtown is just going to continue to grow in terms of its neighborhood and its residential population, and that's something that we want to support," Gondeck said.
For Africano, the opening is personal. His Warehouse Restaurant has been a fixture on the corner for 30 years, and he said the neighborhood around it has transformed.
"It's been here for 30 years and for 23 of it, we're just kind of on an island. There was nothing else here. One of the greatest things that has happened is the addition of the stadium, the apartments, even the restaurants on South Tejon Street. It brings the neighborhood together and livens up the community," Africano said.
Urban Grocer is open seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
