Ludlow businesses innovate to feed neighbors, look forward to full grocery opening

Would you like a loaf of bread and a bag of farm-fresh veggies to go along with that hammer? As they searched for walkable ways to sustain healthy diets after the closing of Keller’s IGA in 2011, Ludlow Avenue residents in Clifton discovered food in unlikely places.

The Ace Hardware store on Ludlow began stocking fresh produce — tomatoes, apples, oranges, etc. — in the summer following the closing of IGA. It also began stocking Shadeau breads, which have been selling well in recent months — more than 600 loaves in October alone, according to Bryan Valerius, general manager of Ace Hardware on Ludlow and former Keller’s manager.

Across the street, CVS shoppers noticed an expansion of canned food options in addition to a wider selection of beers, which allows community members to continue to live a car-free, if less “fresh” life. 

Valerius says that business has increased at Ace in recent months, but that's after the foot traffic decreased when IGA closed.

“The biggest thing I hear from people around here is they don’t like getting in their car and driving to the grocery,” Valerius says.

Ludlow Wines owner Mike Anagnostou agrees. “One of the appeals of Clifton is not having to own a car,” he says. “The day-to-day necessities are all in walkable distance.”

Not all kinds of business were impacted, though, Anagnostou says.

“The weekend entertainment crowd — the people who come to Esquire, Graeter’s, Olive’s, Dewey’s — hasn’t changed,” Anagnostou said. “It’s the weekday traffic [that has declined].”

While both he and Valerius think that IGA’s reopening will help rebuild businesses, they also share doubts about its ambitious January 2013 opening date.

“It’s a very bureaucratic process,” Anagnostou says. He remembers the construction issues that arose when he went through the process of opening his shop. “You get to a certain point where they say, ‘Now you need this, now you need this.’ I truly believe we’re going to get a grocery store. I also believe Mr. Goessling and his crew have been overly-optimistic as to when they’re going to open.”

Valerius estimates the store will require 13-16 weeks of work before it can open again. He thinks the construction time will help his business.

“I’m pulling for [IGA owner] Steve Goessling,” Anagnostou says. “I want him to open.”

Eli Mock, Ludlow native and University of Cincinnati student, used to shop at Keller’s IGA before it closed, and thinks the grocery store’s reopening will make his diet healthier.

“It’ll be easy to pop in and get food for dinner after classes,” Mock says. “It’ll add some diversity to what I eat. I won’t have to rely so much on fast food.”