Cinco de Mayo Market replacing Batavia grocery store
A new grocery store plans to replace Berkeley Finer Foods in a shopping center on the east side of Batavia.
Cinco de Mayo Market LLC is scheduled to close on Thursday on the purchase of the center at Webster and Wilson streets, according to Oscar Brand, a real estate agent and consultant representing the buyer.
The store, to be called Cinco de Mayo Market, will be owned by the company that owns the popular Cinco de Mayo bakeries in Aurora, Brand said.
Brand said the store will keep many of Berkeley’s employees.
It will also continue to sell popular items, including fresh fried chicken and house-made guacamole, he said.
The store will sell pastries from the Aurora bakeries, he said.
The store will close for a short period after the sale to restock its inventory, change signs, and do other transition tasks, according to Brand. It plans to apply for a packaged-goods liquor license. Berkeley sold wine and some alcohol.
Berkeley posted on its Facebook page July 17 that it was closing. It did not give a reason, and its owner has not responded to requests for comment.
Batavia residents responding to the post noted that it was the only grocery store on the east side of Batavia. The closest other grocery stores are on the west side of the city, more than 2 miles away from Berkeley. A Walmart on Kirk Road in Aurora is the closest option on the east side.
There’s been a grocery store on that corner since the early 1960s. Walt’s was there until 1996, Amstadt’s took over in 1997, and Berkeley bought it in 2009.