YOUNGSTOWN Ceremony opens Newport Sparkle

The new store is creating 75 jobs on the South Side.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mayor George McKelvey was scheduled to cut a ribbon this morning for the opening of the city's newest full-serve grocery store, a Sparkle Market at the corner of Market Street and Midlothian Boulevard.
The store opening is a victory for the church coalition ACTION -- the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods -- which lobbied city officials to bring a supermarket to the South Side neighborhood.
City officials put together an incentive package for Furr-Tullo Inc., a Columbiana-based holding company that owns the new Sparkle, which included a $500,000, zero-interest loan and a 10-year, 75 percent personal property tax abatement.
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, which owns the building, has agreed to a five-year lease with three, five-year options to renew. Giant Eagle said it also offered incentives, providing all the food storage equipment in the store at no cost, as well as a loan to buy all the inventory and a "very favorable" lease.
Also expected
City Council president James Fortune, Furr-Tullo owners Vince Furrie Jr., Joe Vitullo and Michael Furrie, and store manager Keith Sholder were also expected to participate in today's opening ceremonies. This is the first Sparkle for the Furr-Tullo group, but the three partners are also part owners in another group, Village Plaza Sparkle Inc., which operates five Sparkle Markets.
"This area has been tremendously underserved for much too long," Vince Furrie said in a news release, promising to bring quality products, excellent customer service and new jobs to the neighborhood.
It's the fourth retailer to occupy the 27,500-square-foot building on Youngstown's South Side in recent history.
Originally a Valu-King supermarket, the space later housed a Giant Eagle. A Phar-Mor store opened there in 2000 but closed in the summer of 2002 when the discount drugstore chain went bankrupt and liquidated.
About the store
The Newport Sparkle Market, named for its spot in the Newport neighborhood, is creating 75 jobs.
The market includes a deli, meat counter, bakery and pharmacy, along with produce, dairy, frozen food and health and beauty sections.
Newport Pharmacy, owned by Independent Pharmacy Group Inc., is also located in the store. The full-service pharmacy will be open six days a week and will offer drive-through service and free prescription delivery.
Independent Pharmacy Group operates four other pharmacies in the Mahoning Valley.