is the first business to open in the complex, which will also include an Everest urgent care facility, a barbecue restaurant, a Santander Bank branch, other retail stores and a parking garage.
“There will be jobs and opportunities in the neighborhood,” Jeremiah said. “It’s part of a larger effort to bring more convenience to the community.”
According to the PHA, the mall and apartments are scheduled to be completed in October. It is managed by Mosaic Development Partners, a black-owned company based in Philadelphia.
About 50 to 100 jobs are expected to be created by the new businesses, which have not yet opened.
Donta Rose, 28, owner-operator of the 17,628-square-foot Grocery Outlet, grew up in North Philadelphia, and many of the 30 employees hired are from the neighborhood. Some of the workers are residents of APSH.
Rose said the company has opened stores in Germantown, Northeast and South Philadelphia. He has worked at Grocery Outlet for about a year and a half.
“As soon as I saw they were coming here, I thought I was the right person for the job,” Rose said. “I had experience in opening stores, ordering products and our sales model to capture great deals. This is the heart of North Philadelphia, and I’m very comfortable with it.”
Tommie Bashem, junior store growth partner at Grocery Outlet, a discount store, said Rose’s reputation for hard work at the company helped him be identified as an owner-operator candidate.
“We have an ‘Aspiring Owner-in-Training’ program and we identify talent internally and externally,” Bashem said. So Rose went through the program and trained with other owner operator candidates and trained at another store. After going through an interview process, Rose was selected for the Sharswood store, Bashem said.
“We really wanted to put in the best business partner in the area that would be involved in the community and knowledgeable about the community,” Bashem said. “He’s from this area, which is a great anchor in the community.”
Grocery Outlet has 400 stores nationwide, all of which are owner-operated, and serve approximately 1.5 million shoppers per week.
