The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Pizza, sushi and other additions coming
By Mark Reaman
Clark’s Market in Crested Butte will officially shut its doors for a four-month renovation project on Thursday, August 17 at 9 p.m. The store has been emptying out with a major sale of items up to 75% off on anything left in the store. The Clark’s site will see a major upgrade and is expected to reopen in December with an upscale look similar to the other Clark’s Markets located in various mountain towns.
“The entire store will be gutted down to the concrete floors and a full remodel will happen from the ground up,” said Clark’s marketing director Samantha Johnston. “Everything in the store will be brand new except for the self-checkout lanes which were installed fairly recently. Everything from shelving and refrigerated cases to lighting and floors will be new. The outside of the building will remain intact but will get a face-lift.”
A big construction fence will encircle the building, but the pharmacy will remain open. There will be some construction staging and storage containers in the parking lot, and Johnston said it is estimated that construction-related equipment will take up about one-third of the lot. “We will also be removing the cases and refrigerated units from the store over the weekend of August 18–20 and those will remain in the parking lot until they are picked up on the 21st,” she added.
The square footage of the grocery will not increase substantially, but there will be a small increase related to the new bathrooms. There will not be any new employee housing as the remodel will be done within the existing footprint, and Clark’s will not be adding a second story.
“It’s been really fun to see the community engage with our social media posts and newspaper advertising to share their ‘wish list’ for the new store,” said Johnston. “It’s been even more rewarding to know that many of the things on our customer’s minds are things that are already included in the plans for the new store—gelato, stone-fired pizza, gluten-free products, fresh sushi, pre-cut produce and expanded deli. We are also compiling a list of products that customers want us to add to the shelves when we re-open and we’ll be working through which items makes sense for us to add.”
During the renovation, Mountain Earth Organic Grocers will increase some of its inventory to help take up the slack that comes with the town’s major grocery store closing. The Wooden Spoon in CB South is also adding to its stock with milk, eggs other staples plus some produce. Mountain Express is implementing a grocery run to Gunnison for senior citizens. That will happen twice a month starting August 14. More information is available on the Mountain Express website (mtnexp.org).
