DALLAS — A planned 50,000-square-foot Tom Thumb grocery store will not open the Red Bird mall redevelopment, the store's owner confirmed.
After the city of Dallas awarded $5.8 million in subsidies to the project, construction on the $7.75 million store was set to begin this fall. The grocery store was expected to create at least 90 jobs and bring another supermarket to an area of Dallas that lacks grocery options.
However, Albertsons Companies, which owns the Tom Thumb chain, told the city Dec. 5 that it "decided to terminate its economic development incentive agreement with the City and will no longer develop the Tom Thumb grocery store within the Shops at RedBird, according to a city of Dallas memo sent to the Mayor and council members.
Albertsons confirmed the decision in a statement to WFAA Sunday.
"After discussions with the City of Dallas and a thorough economic evaluation, Albertsons Cos. has made the difficult decision not to move forward with the previously planned building of a Tom Thumb grocery store," the statement reads.
The company will provide no-fee delivery to ZIP codes surrounding the previously planned stores through nearby Tom Thumb locations, the statement reads.
Dallas' Office of Economic Development will continue "to aggressively pursue full-service grocers to serve our southern Dallas communities," Robin Bentley, assistant city manager, said in the memo to city council.
