Well Well (Market), a grocery store expected Downtown, has scrapped its plans to open, the Downtown Neighbors Alliance confirmed Tuesday. The new store, first announced last July, was slated to open at 817 Liberty Ave. in time for the NFL Draft in April.
John Valentine, CEO of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, told TribLive the store’s partners, Carnegie Mellon University graduates Eric Iacone and and Ivy Hu, faced insurmountable financial hurdles. Both partners brought experience in the grocery business and developed a plan for the 3,800-square-foot storefront based on Iacone’s time working in markets in his hometown Philadelphia and Hu’s working for a family-owned grocery store in China.
Hu also faced challenges as a Chinese national, Valentine said, during Donald Trump’s second administration, which has raised fees for immigrants applying for visas, impacting the store’s funding.
Well Well (Market)’s opening would have brought the first new grocery option to Downtown since a small-scale Target store opened in July 2022. Market Street Grocery, formerly at at 435 Market St., also abruptly closed in February 2025 after 10 years.
The store had aimed to fill a gap selling 40% organic goods, including fresh produce through the Independent Natural Food Retailers Association and to operate a community-focused cafe and juice bar. Valentine previously told TribLive a Downtown grocery store is what “everybody’s been clamoring for for a couple decades now.”
“We’re not going to give up trying. That’s for sure,” he said on Tuesday. “Whether it’s a grocery store or something else, the more businesses we have, the better Downtown is.”