Fareway adding Anamosa, Peosta stores

Residents of Anamosa and Peosta will be seeing new Fareway stores in their communities in the near future.

Boone-based Fareway Stores has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire the former Family Food Center at 402 E. Main St. in Anamosa. The store, which operated for 50 years, closed in early November with co-owner Don Goetz citing competition from Wal-Mart.

Fareway plans to remodel the 19,678-square-foot store over the next year, according to Emily Toribio, Fareway corporate outreach and communications coordinator. The facility will have new fixtures, equipment and other finishes, including a full service meat department.

Toribio said Fareway is working with local officials on the details of the acquisition and redevelopment of the property. She said it will likely open for business in 2017.

In a news release, Fareway President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Greiner said many individuals are working hard to open Fareway in Anamosa as soon as possible.

'We appreciate our relationship with the current owners and former operators of the Family Food Center and their professionalism through our discussions,” Greiner said. 'The Family Food Center served area residents for decades and we are excited about our family-owned company's commitment to serving these same residents for many years to come.”

On Dec. 16, Fareway announced plans for an 18,000-square-foot store in Peosta southeast of the Northeast Iowa Community College campus. The company has property under contract at the intersection of Peosta Street and NICC Drive.

A construction time line has not been finalized, but the store is slated to be completed within a year, according to Toribio. She said company officials have not determined how many people the store will employ.

Greiner said details of Fareway's store plans will be reviewed through a public process in the upcoming months.

Privately-owned Fareway operates 112 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.