Food Basket sites draw interest

CVS, Save-A-Lot, and Tropical Foods have expressed interest in taking over the three storefronts in Dorchester and Hyde Park vacated by Americas' Food Basket, a local grocery chain that shut down last weekend because of poor sales.

Harold Slawsby, president of the discount grocer Save-A-Lot stores in Brockton, Roxbury, and Roslindale, said he submitted a proposal last month to take over the lease for the struggling Fields Corner shop in Dorchester. But the deal -- which Slawsby said could have salvaged the other two Americas' Food Basket stores -- never came to fruition before the chain closed on Saturday.

Slawsby said yesterday he is still interested in opening a Save-A-Lot, which offers a limited selection of groceries, in Fields Corner.

''This is what the area needs," Slawsby said. ''A conventional grocery store can't make it there."

The closure of the Americas' Food Basket chain was a blow to the community, residents and city officials said, because it eliminated the only supermarket for several low-income neighborhoods. In Fields Corner, Americas' Food Basket had replaced Midland Farms, a supermarket with a litany of health and sanitary code violations. In Dorchester's Uphams Corner, the chain opened its flagship store specializing in ethnic foods in 1992, when few business were willing to invest in the neighborhood.

CVS pharmacy and several local merchants, including a furniture store, clothing retailer, and dollar store, have approached the Uphams Corner building's owner about the site. But some Dorchester neighbors say they need a full-service grocery store, not another discounter or limited food shop, especially for residents in these low-income areas who do not have transportation.

''We really need a supermarket," said Jeanne DuBois, who heads the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, which helps build affordable housing and fund small businesses. ''I guess a CVS is better than a dollar store, but it's not as good for the neighborhood as a supermarket."

A CVS spokesman declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Tropical Foods, a Roxbury grocery store specializing in ethnic foods, is pursuing the Hyde Park location vacated by Americas' Food Basket, said Tropical Foods manager Randy Garry. Tropical Foods' business is similar to Americas' Food Basket, but it has a more expansive ethnic selection, focusing on Spanish, Caribbean, West Indian, and African cuisines.

Garry said the Hyde Park location is attractive because it is home to an established business with parking and good visibility.

Americas' Food Basket was shuttered only months after city and neighborhood groups raised $370,000 in small business loans to help the company's founder, Andre Medina, who had run out of cash to pay vendors. Medina did not return calls seeking comment.

''The city's priority is to return supermarkets to these areas that will serve the public and provide jobs," said DeWayne Lehman, a spokesman for Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development.

The city is holding a meeting next week for the estimated 125 employees who worked at Americas' Food Basket to help them find new jobs.

Over the past five years, the city has spent $12.5 million trying to make it easier for grocery stores to prosper, making money available through grants, loans, and light and sidewalk improvements, according to the Department of Neighborhood Development.

Since 1992, 23 new or expanded grocery stores have opened in Boston's neighborhoods.

''We all feel disappointed that Americas' Food Basket didn't work out," said Ira Schlosser, a member of the board of directors for the Fields Corner Main Streets, a local business improvement group.

''But we need to get something back in there that can serve not only the residents but also attract people around the city," Schlosser said.

Jenn Abelson can be reached at ableson@globe.com.