Is Romany Road IGA dead? Cox Foods is out of plan for upscale grocery

The Romany Road IGA, which hasn’t seen any construction activity in months, allegedly isn’t dead.

Laurel Grocery Company, which is a grocery supplier for independent stores in Kentucky, is planning to take it over after Cox Foods, their biggest client, exited last year.

Martin Cox, who is the head of Cox Foods, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But the store is still coming, said Jake Jennings, Laurel Foods spokesman. Jennings said that more details and a timeline should be available soon.

Jennings did not comment on why the deal shifted.

In October, Cox Foods and Laurel said that an IGA store would be opening in late spring. The Market at Romany Road was to be an upscale independent grocery built in the remnants of a former Kroger.

Cox, along with Laurel executives, detailed what the store would have to be competitive in Lexington’s market, which includes Kroger, Walmart, Whole Foods, Good Foods Co-op, The Fresh Market, Meijer, Lucky’s Market, and Save-A-Lot.

But no work ever happened at the site, which had been partially demolished over the fall. The parking lot was opened up again for use by customers at neighboring businesses, including The Bridge Eatery & Bar, which opened next door.

Kroger closed the Romany Road store in September 2015, pulling a cornerstone from the Chevy Chase neighborhood. In January 2017, Cox Foods announced the plans for an IGA.

Bill Farmer, Lexington councilman for the fifth district, which includes the Romany Road area, said that he has heard little from Laurel except that they plan to go forward with a store.

“It’s a great spot, I want a deal to happen, and I know they do too,” Farmer said.

This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Is Romany Road IGA dead? Cox Foods is out of plan for upscale grocery."