New grocery store to rise at the Y
By John R. Moses
As seen in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman,
www.frontiersman.com
Published on Monday, Nov. 26, 2007
10:22 p.m. AKST
By John R. Moses
SUNSHINE — If a man’s home is his
castle, what’s his store?
For Greg Pearson of Palmer, the future site
of Cubby’s Marketplace supermarket is his
campground.
Concrete is being poured this week on land
near Mile 98.4 of the Parks Highway, Greg
Pearson’s wife and business partner Lisa
Pearson said. Greg Pearson decided to live
on the site in a camper for a week or two
and keep an eye on a quantity of lumber and
other materials waiting to be used next
week when the Pearsons hope materials for
the 14,274-square-foot store’s outer shell
will arrive.
The new store will also feature a Knik
Kountry Liquors outlet, said liquor store
owner Greg Hart. He has three other stores
in the Mat-Su Valley.
“I look forward to serving the community,”
Hart said, adding Cubby’s will be good for
the community and he looks forward to also
serving the Upper Susitna Valley. A small
selection of wine, beer and hard alcohol is
sold at a nearby gas station, but the nearest
full-service liquor store to the Cubby’s site
is more than 14 miles away in downtown
Talkeetna.
Talkeetna-area residents eager to avoid a
long drive to Wasilla for groceries are also
keeping an eye out for progress at the site.
“It’s been nice. People are calling and
saying they’re supportive of it,” Lisa
Pearson said.
The Pearsons have wanted to build their
own store for years. They manage D&A
Shop Rite in Wasilla, but Greg Pearson has
taken on the full-time job of organizing the
new business while Lisa is running the
Wasilla store. Their new market will not be
a Shop Rite, but will work with Shop Rite’s
owner to buy groceries in bulk as a strategy
for keeping prices down in the Upper Su
Valley, an area where food sold in smaller
local shops can be costly compared with
prices in Wasilla.
Over the weekend and on Monday a small
crew, including Greg Pearson, was seen
working on the new store’s foundation.
“We got lucky it warmed up,” Lisa Pearson
said.
Original plans had the foundation set and the
building rising in October. Now the
Pearsons hope they can still get the place
ready and open Cubby’s Marketplace next
April or May. Warmer temperatures melted
much of the snow on their freshly cleared
land. Concrete trucks now have easy
access to the site.
Lisa Pearson said the store’s slab
foundation will be poured once the roof is
on and the building enclosed. Then the
serious interior construction work can begin.
“It’s been slow but we’re trying to move
things along,” she said.
The store will have a “help wanted” sign on
it when the Pearsons are ready to hire
employees, she said.
When finished, Cubby's Marketplace will be
the only supermarket for more than 40
miles between Talkeetna and the Wasilla/Big
Lake area offering a large variety of food,
dry goods and fresh produce. Greg Pearson
expects to create 15 to 20 part- and full-
time jobs when the business opens.
As seen in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman,
www.frontiersman.com
Published on Monday, Nov. 26, 2007
10:22 p.m. AKST
By John R. Moses
SUNSHINE — If a man’s home is his
castle, what’s his store?
For Greg Pearson of Palmer, the future site
of Cubby’s Marketplace supermarket is his
campground.
Concrete is being poured this week on land
near Mile 98.4 of the Parks Highway, Greg
Pearson’s wife and business partner Lisa
Pearson said. Greg Pearson decided to live
on the site in a camper for a week or two
and keep an eye on a quantity of lumber and
other materials waiting to be used next
week when the Pearsons hope materials for
the 14,274-square-foot store’s outer shell
will arrive.
The new store will also feature a Knik
Kountry Liquors outlet, said liquor store
owner Greg Hart. He has three other stores
in the Mat-Su Valley.
“I look forward to serving the community,”
Hart said, adding Cubby’s will be good for
the community and he looks forward to also
serving the Upper Susitna Valley. A small
selection of wine, beer and hard alcohol is
sold at a nearby gas station, but the nearest
full-service liquor store to the Cubby’s site
is more than 14 miles away in downtown
Talkeetna.
Talkeetna-area residents eager to avoid a
long drive to Wasilla for groceries are also
keeping an eye out for progress at the site.
“It’s been nice. People are calling and
saying they’re supportive of it,” Lisa
Pearson said.
The Pearsons have wanted to build their
own store for years. They manage D&A
Shop Rite in Wasilla, but Greg Pearson has
taken on the full-time job of organizing the
new business while Lisa is running the
Wasilla store. Their new market will not be
a Shop Rite, but will work with Shop Rite’s
owner to buy groceries in bulk as a strategy
for keeping prices down in the Upper Su
Valley, an area where food sold in smaller
local shops can be costly compared with
prices in Wasilla.
Over the weekend and on Monday a small
crew, including Greg Pearson, was seen
working on the new store’s foundation.
“We got lucky it warmed up,” Lisa Pearson
said.
Original plans had the foundation set and the
building rising in October. Now the
Pearsons hope they can still get the place
ready and open Cubby’s Marketplace next
April or May. Warmer temperatures melted
much of the snow on their freshly cleared
land. Concrete trucks now have easy
access to the site.
Lisa Pearson said the store’s slab
foundation will be poured once the roof is
on and the building enclosed. Then the
serious interior construction work can begin.
“It’s been slow but we’re trying to move
things along,” she said.
The store will have a “help wanted” sign on
it when the Pearsons are ready to hire
employees, she said.
When finished, Cubby's Marketplace will be
the only supermarket for more than 40
miles between Talkeetna and the Wasilla/Big
Lake area offering a large variety of food,
dry goods and fresh produce. Greg Pearson
expects to create 15 to 20 part- and full-
time jobs when the business opens.
This February 2008 photo shows the progress made despite
winter conditions on The Y's newest store, Cubby's
Marketplace.
winter conditions on The Y's newest store, Cubby's
Marketplace.
