The city of Osawatomie has renewed its lease-purchase agreement on grocery equipment for another year as it tries to attract a new grocer to take over the vacant Ron’s Country Market location.
The grocery store at 701 Sixth St. closed in 2017 less than a year after opening its doors. Much of the equipment, valued at $400,000, was almost brand new, and in an attempt to keep it from being sold off, the city purchased the equipment through a lease-purchase agreement with First Option Bank for a reduced cost of $150,000.
The lease-purchase agreement now extends through Jan. 29, 2020. Since the city was acquiring the equipment at a fraction of its original cost, extending the agreement for another term was worth the expense, Cawby said.
A potential buyer is still interested in establishing a grocery in Osawatomie, Cawby said. A grocery store not only would fill a need for residents but would provide economic benefit to the community.
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)