Renovations at Foodland wrapping up this summer

North entrance of the Foodland IGA may featured a renovated exterior this summer. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
North entrance of the Foodland IGA may feature a renovated exterior this summer. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

Owners of the Foodland IGA say Douglas and downtown Juneau customers should see improvements in product and service when renovation work is completed this summer.

The old linoleum tile has been ripped up and the old malfunctioning display case freezers are getting swapped out.

“The list just goes on and on,” says Tyler Myers, president of the Washington-based Myers Group that owns the store. “Every square inch of that store is being touched in some way or another, whether its paint, lighting, flooring.”

Myers says a service counter will return to the meat section and a smoker will be added. The produce section and salad bar are expanding, and public bathrooms will be constructed.

When Myers Group took over the old Alaskan and Proud grocery space in the summer of 2012, they also planned a hardware section, pharmacy, and a liquor store. They’ll all fit into the former Foodland Super Drug space on the west side of the building. Construction crews are currently renovating that area.

“It’s taken a little longer than I had hoped to get to this point,” Myers says. “Probably nobody’s fault in particular. It just took some time.”

Meanwhile, on the south side of the Foodland building owned by Juneau’s Rosenberger family, the existing hardware store is closing up shop. Good Hardware is the midst of a liquidation sale before doors close forever March 21.

Myers says they bought out owner Craig Good for an undisclosed price. Good did not want to take on the risk of investing in building renovations, but Myers says they still wanted Good to work for them as their new hardware manager.

“Part of the reason for hiring Craig Good and doing this transaction was because he has that knowledge, he knows what the customers are looking for and what the community needs,” Myers says.

The new hardware section will be a bigger store with more employees. Instead of the existing True Value line at Good Hardware, Myers says they’ll feature the Ace hardware line which has more merchandise and provides more customer benefits at the point-of-sale. Myers says they switched from True Value at their Washington stores about a year ago.

If a retail liquor license is not immediately available or if no one is willing to relocate to the space, Myers says they may sell health supplements instead.

Myers says the grocery renovations will be completed in May. Exterior work to the building will be done this summer.

Previous renovations allowed a True North Federal Credit Union branch and a Heritage Coffee Roasting Company cafe to move into the space.

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