Houchens Food Group Recommended for Grocery Store Grant
A rendering of the proposed store included in the packet provided at the meeting. The plan is to move the local ACE Hardware store to the same location. Photo Submitted
By PJ Martin
Editor, The Herald-News
A special called joint meeting was held for the Edmonton City Council and the Metcalfe County Fiscal Court on Thursday, September 17th.
The joint meeting was held in conjunction with The Barren River Area Development District (BRADD) to present the recommendation for the Fresh Market/Grocery Store Grant Program.
BRADD was enlisted to administer the grant application process, score applicants, and conduct board review to determine if they would meet qualifications.
The grant will provide financial assistance to one qualifying applicant in the amount of $1,250,000. The City of Edmonton has committed up to $750,000, while Metcalfe County is providing up to $500,000. However, the grant does come with stipulations.
The grocery must be located within the city limits of Edmonton and must operate for a minimum of five years or face strict payback of grant funds. The grocery must also provide fresh produce and employ a specific number of local individuals.
BRADD’s Director of Community and Economic Development Russ Hurd and Matt Pedigo, Community Development Specialist, were in attendance. Hurd announced, “We prepared a board of five BRADD staff members, composed of economic development staff and finance as well.”
Hurd then read the recommendation memo, “BRADD has selected Houchens Food Group as the grocer of choice for the Metcalfe County fiscal court and City of Edmonton grocery store project.”
BRADD staff Matt Pedigo, Community Development Specialist (seated). Standing is Russ Herd, Director of Community and Economic Development, who announced the findings of the BRADD Photo | PJ Martin
He went on to state that the five staff members participated in the review of the application packets, which included an executive summary, business plan, financial and site documents. Houchens Food Group scored 59 of a possible 75 on the criteria, which included four key areas.
The fiscal court and city council each held a vote on the recommendation. The city council motion to accept the recommendation was made by Stacy Beard, seconded by Faye Word, and approved unanimously. The fiscal court motion to accept the recommendation was made by Kevin Crain, seconded by Daniel Bragg, and approved unanimously.
The details of Houchens’ business plan were not released to the press at the meeting.
The next step will be meeting with Houchens Food Group representatives and signing the contract created by City Attorney Brian Pack for the Fresh Market/Grocery Store Grant.
Mayor Doug Smith stated, “This has been a lengthy process and one that has been in the works for far longer than most realize. When we started this process, it became very clear the citizens wanted and needed a grocer to locate in Edmonton, but without some assistance on our part, our citizens were going to suffer. After several attempts to contact different grocers and a lot of research, we were able to figure out a way to adjust our budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year and to spearhead attracting a fresh market/grocery for our community. We look forward to working with Houchens Food Group and hope that this store will not only supply the needs of our community, but attract others to our area.”
Judge/Executive Larry Wilson said, “I’m glad we’ve got this far. The people of Metcalfe County should be pleased with this decision. Now we are on the right track and should be able to see significant progress in the next few months.”
With no other business on the agenda, the meeting adjourned.
