Akron-based Acme grocery store begins construction on first new location in a decade in Medina

Acme Fresh Market is building its first new store in a decade.

The Akron-based grocery store chain broke ground Friday on a new store in Medina.

The store that will be situated off state Route 3 south of the Medina Square will be the family-owned chain's 17th store and its first in Medina County.

Talk of building the store on one of the city's last remaining areas of large commercial property has been the works for two decades.

The last store built by the Albrecht family was in Green in 2014.

There's a lot of other development going on near the store at the northwest corner of South Court Street and High Point Drive.

Construction is expected to start on a separate development across the street to build a Taco Bell and a Dunkin' Donuts.

A new nursing home also is being developed nearby.

Construction has already started on a new Meijer's north of the square, where the former Super K once stood.

Joe Albrecht, president of Albrecht Inc., the family's real estate operations, said building a store in Medina just made sense given the sense of community there and the growing residential areas in that part of the county.

"This is an exciting day," he said.

It was also an exciting day for the city too.

Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell said it has been his goal to have a grocery store open south of the square ever since the Hawkins Market that served that area of the city closed years ago.

The final hurdle, Hanwell said, was cleared just a few weeks ago when they were able to convince the Ohio Department of Transportation to allow driveway access along Route 3.

"It was important to me to get this done," he said.

When will the Medina Acme open?

Albrecht said work will begin in earnest now on the new store.

Work has already started on getting the site ready for the construction to begin on the actual store.

"There's a lot of work to be done," he said. "We are not ready to sell groceries just yet."

The goal is to open the store next spring.

The grocery store is just phase one.

Plans also call for additional smaller stores to be built connected to the main grocery store along with a separate mid-size store.

There are also two separate out parcels that will eventually be developed along Route 3 across from the existing McDonald's.

What will the new Medina Acme be like inside?

The new Medina Acme will cover 56,360 square feet and is expected to employ at least 80 workers.

Nick Albrecht, who is president of the family's grocery store operations, said the Medina store will be a full-service store with a deli, a bakery, a full-service meat department and a pharmacy.

It will be like the chain's recently remodeled stores and will closely resemble the Hudson Acme.

But like all of its stores, he said, there will be nods to not only the company's roots but also the community where it is located.

The chain's signature cow over the dairy case will be in the Medina store too, along with a Cheerio 10-cent horse ride.