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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Zup’s to open temporary store

Gas pumps and limited services to be opened within weeks

Marcus White
Posted 7/10/19

COOK – Residents here will soon be able to buy gas and do limited shopping after Zup’s signed a lease to begin occupying space adjacent to the store property.

Some services will be open …

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Zup’s to open temporary store

Gas pumps and limited services to be opened within weeks

Posted

COOK – Residents here will soon be able to buy gas and do limited shopping after Zup’s signed a lease to begin occupying space adjacent to the store property.

Some services will be open “within a couple of weeks,” store manager Matt Zupancich said.

The Mobil gas station that has sat vacant since the store burned down last November should reopen sometime in the next few weeks followed by a small, temporary grocery that Zup’s will establish in a former office space near the current Subway. The new store will offer a small selection of groceries including fresh meats and produce.

Zupancich said the company has the necessary permits and licensing in place to begin the limited operation and all that is left is to figure out the logistics.

Last month, the company revealed that rebuilding was taking longer than expected after the costs of returning the store to Cook turned out to be much higher than expected. The company has no current timeline for when reconstruction of the former store might begin. The company has begun raising the necessary capital to complete the project.

Zupancich said he hopes the small temporary store will help alleviate some of the inconvenience for Cook area residents, who have been without a grocery store since the fire last year.

In the meantime, aside from the limited operation set to open, the city is planning to begin an infrastructure project to enhance access to water lines on the town’s south side adding additional fire hydrants in the area around the Zup’s property.

The IRRRB is providing a $350,000 grant to the city to get the waterline project off the ground.