The store is to be located on a 9 acre site at the corner of Lapalco Blvd and Ames Blvd in the Marreo neighborhood in Jefferson Parish, LA. The census tract is considered “highly distressed” by the NMTC criteria. Marrero is located in the West Bank of Jefferson Parish and has suffered from high poverty rates, declining employment, in large part, because of Hurricane Katrina. The neighborhood majority racial makeup is 48% African American, 40% White and 6% Asian.

The project will provide a roughly 40,000ft full service grocery store which will provide access to healthy fresh food in a highly distressed census tract which has also been designated as a food desert by USDA. Louisiana ranks in the top 5% of all states for obesity in the United States. The corner of Ames Blvd and Lapalco Blvd are major thoroughfares in Marrero and will provide great access to the grocery store.

The grocery store itself will employ an estimated 100-140 full and part time positions that range from entry level to skilled labor. Grocery jobs have the ability to develop as a career path for many. Employees have the ability to ladder from entry level cashier jobs to butcher up to store manager with experience, drive and training.