Rio Rancho Market Street the first of its kind in NM

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on the March 6 Rio Rancho NAIOP Roundtable. This story focuses on the Rio Rancho Market Street about to open near Westside and Unser boulevards, and the second will focus on the area’s overall development.

RIO RANCHO — The Market Street won’t just be a new shopping experience for Rio Rancho; it’s making history in the state.

“We are super thrilled to be able to introduce you guys to this platform,” said Dan Szuch, store director, during the March 6 Rio Rancho NAIOP meeting. “I think a grocery store out here has been a long time coming. This will be the first ground-up Market Street in the state.”

The store, part of the Albertsons family, will be more than 80,000 square feet and bring 350 jobs to Rio Rancho, Szuch said. It is expected to open in late April. It is one of the businesses slated for The Village business park along Unser Boulevard between Wellspring Avenue and Westside Boulevard.

At the start of the project, the company was looking at the area of McMahon and Unser boulevards.

“I was really happy that that one fell through, because I’m really happy about being in Rio Rancho,” Szuch, a longtime Rio Rancho resident, said. “I want to see that GRT come into Rio Rancho. I want to bleed Albuquerque a little bit.”

He then went into details about what the Market Street will have to offer.

• Market Street Express convenience store. At more than 3,000 square feet, there will be 24/7 fuel pumps, a drive-thru option and made-to-order barista drinks. “Anything that’s on the inside, minus the alcohol, they actually will take it out to your car. The food that’s going to be in there, it’s actually been made in Market Street,” Szuch said.

The express is also making state history for the business. “That’s actually only our second gas station in the state,” he said, with the other being in a converted building in Roswell. “This will be our first one that we’ve actually built.”

• Produce department, which Szuch says will be very large with a lot of offerings.

• Bakery with scratch-baked bread. “That’s not something grocery stores have done in a long time. I was really excited about bringing that back to the program,” he said.

• Full-service floral department. “They can take care of any kind of floral needs,” Szuch noted, including wedding, anniversary, funeral, etc.

• Living Well, and health and supplement area with expanded holistic, natural organic and specialty items.

• ReadyMeals. Already an Albertsons staple, Market Street will have an expanded offering of what Szuch calls “TV dinners on steroids.”

• Full-service meat and seafood market, including an aged beef corner.

• Full-service deli with an expanded cheese section with fresh cheese with a cheese specialist on staff.

• An in-store Starbucks, Smok’d Pit Barbecue, and Chopsticks Noodle Bar. These eateries will be part of the cafeteria area with seating for more than 200 people.

• Streetside e-commerce service. “This store has a purpose-built room designed just for e-commerce,” Szuch said. “It’s build to help you guys with all of your shopping needs.”

• Concierge service, which can help customers plan events such as weddings, showers, galas, luncheons, birthday parties and more. “They’ll connect all your orders (from the different parts of the store) to make sure that everything actually comes to fruition,” Szuch said.

Jerry Schalow, president and CEO of the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, noted on the frequent requests he and Mayor Gregg Hull get for stores such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. “The reason why we wanted this store, Market Street, is it does it all in one location, plus some.”

One thing it currently doesn’t have is an in-store bar. “The goal for us is to execute at a high level, get the store running, show how amazing it is, how well-received by the community it is, and then see if we can get space there for it,” he said, which would likely take about 30 seats from the cafeteria area. “We’re hoping that we open up really well and that our leadership will want to brave New Mexico’s liquor issues so that we can serve some beer while you shop for groceries.”

“It’s where ordinary meets gourmet,” he added.

And while that may create some concerns about pricing, Szuch noted that prices will remain the same as traditional Albertsons Markets.

“So, Market Streets are definitely high end. There are a lot of offerings in the store that will cater to people that potentially might be more affluent,” he said. “At the same time, we offer the exact same groceries that our traditional Albertsons Market has at the same price. The only things that are going to be more expensive in that building would be the things that the normal Albertsons Market doesn’t carry, which are more expensive anyway, that you have to go to a specialty store to get.”

Additionally, Rio Rancho’s new Market Street is expected to generate a lot of revenue. “The current store that I run in Enchanted Hills is the busiest store that we have in the city,” Szuch said. “Out of the gate, we should be doing more than that.”

He said getting the pharmacy up and building its customer base will only add to that. “As we build the pharmacy business, we know the pharmacy guests spend more with us and they’re loyal to us. That will grow.”

“It’s an outstanding opportunity for all of New Mexico, but particularly Rio Rancho,” Schalow said. “This is a Texas concept, so the areas that are growing higher income, that’s where they put these stores. Rio Rancho, we’ve seen it since 2020, go from $54,000 median income to $85,000, so that blows the rest of the state away in income growth.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he reiterated. “It’s really going to make sure that Rio Rancho is on the map, and it being the first truly built flagship store in the state of New Mexico is just outstanding.”