For the third time in less than a year, a small grocery store has opened in Tarentum to accommodate residents, especially those without transportation.

Tarentum Mini Mart opened Monday on East Sixth Avenue in the former bank building at the corner of Corbet Street.

“We will try to be a one-stop shop where people can get groceries and paper products and whatever they need,” owner Haresh Kachhabiya said.

Apparently, there is great need.

The mini mart sits next door to Horizon Market, a similar store which opened in May owned by Harrison real estate agent Cameron Yockey, and several blocks from MacKay’s Market, which opened in August near the Brackenridge border and is owned by Harrison resident Linda Gromley.

Tarentum Mini Mart employee Kranthi Kumar said the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive leading up to the opening.

“Everyone seems very happy,” he said. “They used to have to go a long way, walking across the (Tarentum) bridge for groceries.”

The closest PRT bus travels under the Tarentum Bridge and stops along East Fourth Avenue. It doesn’t cross the bridge to Giant Eagle.

Access will be even more limited at the start of next year, when the bridge is scheduled for long-term renovations by PennDOT. That work could last three years.

“We are just trying to get everything that the community needs,” Kachhabiya said. “It’s a heavy load to carry a gallon of milk across the bridge.”

The newest grocery mart is stocked with shelf-stable foods, as well as frozen meats, eggs and milk. There are several small aisles filled with household staples that include laundry detergent, pet food, medicine and snacks. People can also stop in for grab-and-go items, pop, juice and other drinks.

The Pennsylvania Lottery will be available within in the week, said Kachhabiya, who is a familiar face in the borough as co-owner of Tarentum Beverage Mart, a couple of storefronts farther up the business corridor.

Shoppers at the store will be able to use EBT. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Longtime residents will best remember the building for housing People’s National Bank for the better part of the 1900s, beginning in 1918, and later, First Commonwealth Bank, which closed in 2016, according to historian Cindy Homburg.

Remnants of the bank remain prominent in the 5,500-square-foot building, where the back of the store still is graced by a wall-size steel vault.

The building has been vacant since the bank’s closure. Its reopening could be a spark to the commercial district, according to Pittsburgh-based Food21.org.

In addition to offering access to healthy food, markets can attract other startups, according to the nonprofit. They can also spur the local economy and provide socialization.

Tarentum resident Brad Pulaski popped into the market Tuesday afternoon to check out the new space.

“I’m so happy you opened up,” he told Kumar. “Anything like this brings business back to town.”

Councilwoman Carrie Fox agreed, saying aesthetics are key to an older community.

“I absolutely love to see an old building gain new life,” she said. “It’s very welcoming.”