‘We need more money.’ Peach Market is out of funds and may not happen, owner says

Derek Miller works on renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Part of the building will become the Peach Market, an urban grocery store.

A rendering of what the Peach Market will look like when completed. Andrew Kokas is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. (Courtesy of Andrew Kokas)

Andrew Kokas is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. The building is seen on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.

Andrew Kokas, left, is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. The building is seen on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.

Derek Miller works on renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Part of the building will become the Peach Market, an urban grocery store.

A rendering of what the Peach Market will look like when completed. Andrew Kokas is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. (Courtesy of Andrew Kokas)

Andrew Kokas is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. The building is seen on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.

Derek Miller works on renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Part of the building will become the Peach Market, an urban grocery store.

A pedestrian passes the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson. The building is to become an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. The building is seen on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.

A rendering of what the Peach Market will look like when completed. Andrew Kokas is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. (Courtesy of Andrew Kokas)

Andrew Kokas is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. The building is seen on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.

Derek Miller works on renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Part of the building will become the Peach Market, an urban grocery store.

Andrew Kokas is renovating the former Evanoff's building at the corner of Francis and Cortland streets in downtown Jackson for use as an urban grocery store called the Peach Market. The building is seen on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.

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JACKSON, MI – An effort to bring a grocery store to downtown Jackson is struggling with funding and a partner is needed to help bring it to fruition, the owner of Jackson’s proposed Peach Market said.

Peach Market is a 7,000-square-foot grocery store with fresh produce, a coffee and liquor bar, deli, prepared foods and more that was intended to open in Jackson in 2021, said Andrew Kokas, who owns and is developing the former Evanoff’s Food and Cocktails building with his wife, Yizhuo “Olivia” Liang.

The market specifically would bring healthy whole food and produce to the neighborhoods around downtown, especially in low-income areas where people may have to take public transit to grocery stores. The need for a grocery store in this area has prompted growing conversation from community members.

Related: It’s a 30-minute trip for groceries, and Jackson’s southside is begging for a closer store

However, after several years of trying to renovate the 120-year-old building at 148 E. Cortland St., all work has currently stalled, Kokas said. Kokas and Liang have run out of resources and funding to complete the project, and are now asking for help.

“In order to make construction restart, we need more money,” Kokas said.

Kokas and Liang bought the building in 2014 for $65,000, records show. They’ve spent the last several years trying to find ways to finance the major renovations needed, Kokas said.

The project is expected to cost around $1.5 million. But, at this point, Kokas and Liang cannot provide anymore personal funding to the project, Kokas said.

Related: All-in-one restaurant, bar, grocery store on pace to open downtown

So far, the couple has invested around $250,000 of their own money into Peach Market, Kokas said. They also still have a grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for around $50,000, which will help pay for the refrigeration units inside of the store, he said.

Their personal funds helped pay for a new roof and to rebuild the building’s load-bearing walls. Work still needs to be done to get new storefront windows, while maintaining most of the existing façade, and interior of the building.

“We went as far as we could,” Kokas said.

Getting additional funding has been a struggle, Kokas said, adding they’ve tried to get loans from 30 different financial institutions but couldn’t receive funding because they lacked enough capital on their own.

Also, a $30,000 grant from the Jackson Downtown Development Authority was promised for the project, but Kokas said it never came through. DDA officials did not respond to messages left regarding this grant.

Kokas and Liang now hope the community can help with the project. They are looking for any type of partnership that could continue the push of the project forward, Kokas said, including investors or an operating partner.

“We need a partner – we’re flexible on what type of partner that could be,” Kokas said.

Kokas has been speaking with community leaders to see if they can either point him in him in the right direction for help or provide help themselves, he said. This includes the city, the Jackson Anchor Initiative, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and other organizations, he said.

Related: A vacant Jackson lot could be the key to a southside grocery store, officials say

“I don’t know the movers and the shakers in this town,” Kokas said. “It’s really just follow up, trying to get the word out so I can speak with people intelligently about the issues and what, if any, they could do to help.”

Kokas has also asked about the city’s Community Development Block Grants and plans to approach officials about the possibility of getting some of those funds for Peach Market. CDBG supports community development activities, and previously, the city has used the funds for parks, trails and neighborhood improvements, City Spokesman Aaron Dimick, however, said, they are rarely used for private investments.

The city declined to comment further about the market.

Kokas said he will keep reaching out to potential partners, but if the couple does not receive financial help by the end of this summer, Kokas said they will consider selling the building and giving up.

“We can’t just keep piling up debt every month,” Kokas said. “We can’t hang on to something that doesn’t happen.”

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