Lisa Minder had a dream when she returned to America in 2016 after living in China for 22 years.
Once a professional journalist, Minder had an opportunity to travel to China and she took it. Then, she met her husband, and the couple had a son, William Liu. But Will became ill and his parents were unable to find the medical care he needed most, so Lisa brought him to the United States. Her husband, Liuyang, though, remained behind.
But now, it’s time to return to reunite a family separated for five long years. When she moved, the family was residing in Beijing, but she and her son will join her husband in Shanghai upon their return.
“We found a very good doctor here and my son is doing much better,” Minder said. “That’s why it’s time to go back to China so we can become a family again, and so my son can attend a bilingual school so he can speak more than one language. That’s very important in the Chinese culture.
“My husband has a cheese business and it’s doing much better now than it was when Covid first hit. He had won several gold and silver medals at international cheese competitions, so the business has been very successful,” she said. “So, yes, it is time to go back and be our family again, but it also means I have to sell the South Wheeling Grocery that I opened back in September.”
For Sale
New coolers. New refrigerators. New shelves. And an inventory that include everything from candy and potato chips to frozen foods and several brands of beer. Opening a business during a pandemic, though, was daunting, but Minder believes strongly the market has a future full of potential.
“When I came back to the states from China, one of the things I wanted to do was to start a market in an area that was a food desert, these days South Wheeling is a food desert,” Minder explained. “Until we opened, there was no fresh food sold in that area, but I was wrong about that. It seems most people don’t buy fresh food in this area. I had it here, but no one bought it.
“It’s a very diverse area. Very diverse, and that’s why it surprised me that there was a demand for what we were selling in the beginning,” she said. “Plus, a lot of people who live in this area do not have transportation, so they either take a bus or a taxi to a grocery store, so that’s why I thought I would fill that niche. Now, I have received a lot of positive feedback and I did have several regular customers, but now that I am planning for me and my son to travel back to China. That’s why it’s time to see if I can sell the business.”
The structure in which the South Wheeling Grocery is located has been owned for decades by the Niehaus family, and Minder insisted they are willing to consider renovations to future tenants. The grocery’s equipment and inventory, though, is now on the open market.
“The business is for sale as well as everything in it,” Minder said. “All of the equipment was purchased new, and the person who buys it is going to make money because of the new apartment developments that are taking place, and because there are so few options in this area.
“Now, the building is not for sale, but the owner is great and is willing to work with just about anyone who wants to keep the grocery store open,” she said. “It’s really a great building, and the owner is more than willing to discuss any renovations a new business owner would want. That’s why I hope someone will approach me about buying the business because this is really a great location that’s right along Jacob Street.”
New Residents
One apartment complex in South Wheeling is nearing completion, and another is scheduled for a spring groundbreaking, and the two locations will increase residency in close proximity to the South Wheeling Market.
But that’s only one of the reasons why Minder believes the future is very bright for an entrepreneur to take over operations after she closes the market on March 1 and before her June departure.
“I’m willing to bet those new places will increase the amount of customers at the store, so maybe I opened too soon, I don’t know, but I have really enjoyed meeting the people in the neighborhood and adapting the inventory in the store to what they have suggested to me,” Minder said. “Those developments will be called Hobbs Green and Carnegie Green, and combined there will be 78 units on 37th and 39th streets.
“I also had plans to make the other side of this building a take-out kitchen business, and I was looking for partners to be able to do that,” she continued. “But now, I’ve run out of time, but I still believe this market and a take-out kitchen in this area would work very well because there’s really no other options in South Wheeling.”
South Wheeling is one of four neighborhoods included in the city’s Ward 3, and most of the area is lined with both residential and commercial buildings. There are issues there just as there are concerns about drug trafficking, breaking and entering incidents, and speeding just as there are in everyone of the city’s sections.
“I have really enjoyed owning this business and meeting all of the people I’ve met from here,” Minder said. “All of our customers are really nice people, and I am going to miss them very much after we move back to China. I’m going to miss them very much.
“But there is money to be made here, especially once those developments are completed because those new residents will be just a few steps away from this front door,” she said. “I’d love to see it become as big a success as I believe it can be, and that’s why I hope to sell it to someone with the goals as I had when I opened it.”
