Backed by state grant, construction of metro-east grocery store is set to begin

A grocery store planned to open in the small metro-east town of Venice next summer will soon start construction.

Called Venice Grocery Market, the store will serve as an anchor to a broader revitalization effort that includes an attached pizza restaurant, the newly renovated elementary and middle school, single-family homes, a health clinic and more.

“This is a great day for the city of Venice,” Mayor Phil White said at Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony.

The Illinois Grocery Initiative covered $2.4 million of the $5 million total cost to build the store and restaurant in Venice. The General Assembly created the $20 million program in 2023 to help seed grocery stores in food deserts in urban and rural parts of the state.

The closest grocery stores or supermarkets are at least four miles away from Venice residents in Granite City. Urban communities are considered to be a food desert if grocery stores are more than one mile away, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ed Hightower, the former Edwardsville school superintendent, Big Ten basketball referee and current Southern Illinois University trustee, is the project’s primary investor. Venice will own the building, and it will lease the space to Hightower.

Construction contracts are planned to be finalized by the end of the month or start of December. The buildout will take eight months, which means the new grocery store should be open by August, Hightower said.

“Venice has a proud history, and it deserves a future filled with hope and opportunity,” he said. “The Venice Market is more than just a grocery store — it’s a symbol of renewal and a promise to the people who have called this community home for generations.”