DC’s Wards 7 and 8 Residents Get First Supermarket in 10 Years
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and city officials broke ground on January 8 on a new Lidl supermarket at the Skyland Town Center, the first new supermarket that will serve residents in Wards 7 and 8 in more than a decade.
“Today, we celebrate a significant milestone that brings fresh, affordable, and healthy food to the residents of Ward 7,” Bowser said. “The new Lidl Food Market at Skyland demonstrates our commitment to delivering more grocery stores and food access points to neighborhoods East of the River. This grocery store has been a long time coming, and we are proud to be delivering for a community that has worked so hard to get to this groundbreaking.”
The Southeast DC store, which is scheduled to open by the end of 2022, is expected to provide around 45 new jobs, with wages from $16.50 per hour. All positions at Lidl include healthcare and other benefits.
“We thank Mayor Bowser and local leaders for their support and warm welcome to the District,” said Michal Lagunionek, CEO of Lidl US. “We are confident that DC residents will appreciate Lidl’s unique and high-quality approach to grocery, which allows shoppers to save money on our award-winning selection of fresh and high-quality products. We look forward to building a great team at Skyland and opening our store once construction is completed later this year.
The new Lidl Food Market comes as part of the mayor’s efforts to expand food access points East of the River. Bowser recently established a $58.6 million Food Access Fund and altered the Supermarket Tax Credit to prioritize areas most in need of grocery stores.
The District also started the Nourish DC Fund to provide flexible loans, catalytic grants, and technical assistance to locally owned small food businesses in the city.
The Skyland Town Center, where the new Lidl is located, is a major project launched by the Bowser administration. The multi-year initiative aims at bringing retail and residential space to Ward 7, as well as creating hundreds of jobs.