One Park Place - Grocery Store

Grocery Store

Phoenicia Specialty Foods opened a grocery store location in 28,000 square feet (2,600 m2) of space on the ground floor of One Park Place. The Downtown location focuses on serving residents in the Downtown area by stocking staples such as bread, eggs, and milk in addition to the signature products of Phoenicia Specialty Foods. In addition the store will have a Wine Bar, a cafe, and a delicatessen to attract area workers. Katharine Schilcutt of the Houston Press said prior to the store's opening that Phoenicia will become the first major grocery store in Downtown. Zohrab "Bob" Tcholakian, the owner of Phoenicia Deli, designed the venting system, located beneath the garage and residential units at One Park Place, that allows the store to bake its own bread on-site. Tcholakian has a background of being an architect, allowing him to design the system. Shilcutt said that the facility has "ample parking" that would "surely" attract residents of the Houston Heights and Montrose to the store. The MKT Bar is located inside of the grocery store.

Before the announcement by Phoenicia occurred, rumors spread stating that Whole Foods Markets wanted to lease space in One Park Place to establish a store there. Originally the opening was scheduled for December 2010. It was moved to May 2011, but due to issues with the design of the electrical and plumbing lines, the opening was moved to July 15. By November the store opened.