Hardware Store to Replace SLP Supervalu

As one St. Louis Park business closes, another one will be relocating from across town to fill the space.

will be moving from the on Excelsior Boulevard to take over the building currently occupied by , which is set to close on Sept. 17, according to the owner.

Ben Steinberg, a principal with Tri Star Management, which owns the property, said he expects Jerry's to move into the 12,600 square-foot space by early October and hopefully open sometime in December.

The change will mark the end of a 14-year run for Almsted's Supervalu at the corner of Louisiana Avenue and Cedar Lake Road. Management said the store was "losing money every week" since opened at the about two years ago.

Steinberg said he was sad to see Almsted's Supervalu go, but acknowledged that it was a tough spot to have a grocery store.

"This location has been hit from every direction with competition," Steinberg said, noting Rainbow as well as , and the across the street. "It just became impossible."

Steinberg did say he was excited to bring in Jerry's, which will feature a garden center.

"I have a feeling this is a pretty good location for the hardware store," he said.

The moving and shaking is part of a larger transformation of the Westwood Shopping Center. In August, a Family Dollar store opened in part of the space left vacant by the closing of Snyder's Drug in April 2010. Steinberg said Family Dollar took up about two-thirds of the vacant space, and he added that he hopes to have a new tenant signed for the rest of the space by next week.

Steinberg did not disclose the name of the potential tenant or what type of business it is, but he did say it is a "national" company.

"It's kind of a renaissance for the Westwood Shopping Center," Steinberg added.