By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A grocery store could soon be coming to downtown St. Joseph.
Tim and Krista Doyle with Restoration Church have a building and a name, and hope to soon be selling groceries to those who live, work, or visit downtown.
The Doyles have formed a nonprofit separate from the church, Gateway City Trading Company, to operate a grocery store at an historic address: 101 Main Street.
Tim Doyle says the building might not look like much, especially compared with other stunning historic buildings in St. Joseph, but it is one of the oldest in town. In fact, the name chosen for the grocery store reflects that history. The Doyles say the store will be called Planters House Market, a nod to the old Planters House Hotel in the early days of St. Joseph.
Steps still must be taken before food will be sold there. A market study is being conducted to determine the feasibility of operating a grocery store in downtown St. Joseph.
Krista Doyle says the couple has been anxious to get the store up and running.
“This is going slower than what we want, but each step is an important step that we’re taking,” Doyle tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “So, the next step we’re taking is the market study that we have to do in order to bring a grocery store to our building.”
As for Tim Doyle, he says the lack of a grocery store downtown is a problem.
“We need sources for fresh, nutritious, healthy food that helps people fit the budget as well,” Doyle says during the couple’s guest appearance on the Hotline. “So I think, again, it’s a great partnership that will benefit not just downtown, but St. Joseph as a whole.”
Tim Doyle says the effort checks off three points for St. Joseph: addressing food insecurity in the city’s core, convenience for those living and working downtown, and historic preservation.
He admits the two haven’t got everything figured out as the move forward.
“I’ve never really had it all figured out before I went in. I just kind of followed it one step at a time, followed the bread crumbs, if you will,” Tim Doyle says. “And this grocery store, we just recognized such a vital need for downtown and if we can help provide that, to be a blessing, a resource, and an amenity, especially to place that into a historic building. So, we’re winning on so many fronts.”
The building at the corner of Francis and Main is on the same block as the Restoration Church location.
This article has been edited since first published.