Schnuck Markets Purchases Columbia Centre Market Place from Koppeis

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Schnuck Markets Inc. recently announced the purchase of Columbia Centre Market Place Inc., a Koppeis family enterprise in Columbia, Ill.

Schnucks is buying the grocery store and attached Commerce Bank space only. The deal does not include the land or other properties.

Joe Koppeis built the approximately 47,000-square-foot facility (including the bank space) in 1989. Commenting on the decision to sell, he said: “After 25 years of serving our community, it’s time to sell and give our employees career growth opportunities with a company like Schnucks. My wife and I will turn our attentions to our other commercial real estate enterprises, and we will remain landlords to the new Schnucks store.”

Schnucks Chairman and CEO Scott Schnuck said: “The Market Place will be a great location for us in that we will be able to serve new customers and operate in close partnership with Schnucks Waterloo just under eight miles away. We respect the Koppeis family who, like Schnucks, are a family enterprise and share our sense of community.”

The store is scheduled to reopen as a Schnucks store on Jan. 16th 2014.

Schnuck Markets was founded in St. Louis in 1939 and from a small confectionery in north St. Louis. The family-owned company now operates 100 stores and 95 in-store pharmacies in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa.

In other local news, Johnson Group Inc. for Live Oak Development L.C. announced Holman Boiler Works Inc. recently signed a commercial property lease to expand operations to 14,000 square feet at its current Fenton, Mo. facility in Greater St. Louis.

Located at 1626 Headland Drive in Fenton, the Holman facility site is a project of Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate Services. Holman was represented in the transaction by Alex Cain of Cassidy Turley’s St. Louis office. The landlord was represented by Daniel J. Johnson of Johnson Group Inc.

Image Courtesy of: www.marketplacegrocer.com