Plans to remodel a 114-year-old Historic Southside building for a neighborhood grocery and general store are advancing.
The 945-square-foot cinder block and concrete building at 1203 E. Leuda St. will be extensively remodeled after Fort Worth City Council members approved a five-year tax abatement — totaling at least $123,918 — for the site on Oct. 21.
Danielle Tucker, a Watauga resident who’s owned the building with her father since 2012, said she wants to open Tucker’s Grocery next fall. She plans to sell fresh produce, fruit, eggs, milk and possibly meat and coffee to fill nutritional gaps.
The 76104 ZIP code, where the store will be located, has the lowest life expectancy in Texas — 67 years — and is considered a food desert. Nearby grocery stores are at least 2 miles away from the neighborhood, and many convenience stores in the area focus on selling candy, sugary sodas and salty snacks, she said.
“I’ve seen the need for specific ethnic groups to put fresh fruit and produce on the table,” she said. “I can’t fill the need of a large grocery store, but I thought, ‘Let me try and see what I can do on a smaller scale.’”
As plans for an urban village at East Rosedale Street and Evans Avenue are underway, the top request of Southside residents for the project is a full-scale grocery store. The city has said it had trouble finding a grocer for the area since there aren’t enough households, even in the booming Near Southside district on the west side of Interstate 35W.
In December, neighborhood residents advocated for a grocery store as part of the urban village. Residents said at the time they wanted a market to buy fresh food and other staples. Officials said they are trying to lure a bodega or small market to the development.
Grocery stores average about 40,000 square feet in size, according to BRR Architecture.
In June 2024, Tucker’s building on East Leuda received a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission that allows the repair and restoration of the property.
The Leuda Street building, constructed around 1911, was once home to a jazz club and beauty salon, among other businesses. In the 2000 documentary “Dewey Time,” Fort Worth saxophonist Dewey Redman recalled that his love of music was inspired by growing up across the street from the Leuda Street “juke joint.”
Remodeling will include repairing the roof, masonry walls and foundation; installing doors and windows; and adding a new storefront and canopy. The work is required to be consistent with guidelines for the Terrell Heights Historic District, according to a city staff report.
Remodeling will take several months, Tucker said.
She is planning to operate Tucker’s Grocery on a 24-hour basis and is seeking distributors and farmers to help supply her store. In addition to groceries, Tucker’s goal is to stock the store with handmade items from local vendors and artists as well as showcase culturally appropriate crafts for the historic Black neighborhood.
The store would also host food trucks at the site.
Tucker said she is considering selling beer and wine but would institute no-loitering rules at the property if she decides to do so.
“We don’t want to attract that type of presence,” she said.
Tucker said the store’s name will be an homage to her grandmother’s former grocery business in the historic Black community of Batesville, Mississippi, where her family was involved in civil rights struggles.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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