Downtown New Kensington no longer a food desert with opening of Horizon Market

Downtown New Kensington will no longer be considered a food desert once a small-scale grocery store opens there Wednesday.

Shoppers will have access to fresh produce, seafood, milk, meat and more when Horizon Market opens at 4 p.m. at 912 Seventh St. near the BP gas station, in the former Molnor Antiques building.

It’s something those without transportation have lacked since 2020, when Shop ’n Save in Central City Plaza closed.

“Horizon Market is a very welcome and much-needed addition to our downtown area,” New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said. “This will be convenient for folks who live in the downtown, Parnassus and surrounding neighborhoods.

“It is so important that everyone have access to fresh produce and groceries for their everyday needs.”

The store is among three planned by Cameron Yockey, a Murrysville developer, and his partner, Brianna Thorpe. The first site opened earlier this year along East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum. A third store is planned for River Road in the Natrona section of Harrison. Yockey did not have a timeline for when that store might open.

In each area, there is limited access to affordable or nutritious foods. People without transportation sometimes were limited to buying grab-and-go items at gas stations and corner stores.

According to the National Institutes of Health, those kinds of options are often high-calorie, low-nutrient foods like frozen dinners and chips. That can lead to diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity, the group’s website said.

In New Kensington, Horizon Market is among ongoing efforts to increase overall access to healthy food.

Michelle Thom, president of the Downtown New Ken Partnership, has been working for years to bring fresh food options to residents.

There is a Golden Dawn on Freeport Road, and Giant Eagle and Aldi on Tarentum Bridge Road, but those are largely out-of-reach to downtown residents without transportation.

Thom’s group, earlier this year, implemented the city’s first farmers market on Fifth Avenue. They also sponsor a Fresh Food Shuttle service to take people from New Kensington, Arnold and Lower Burrell to grocery stores and local food banks.

“This new market is absolutely a good attempt to provide access to fresh food,” Thom said. “We appreciate every avenue that helps fill the void.”

Efforts to bring a full-size grocery store to the city are ongoing, Thom said.

Local businessman Cody Campbell and a partner have been looking to open something in the former Shop’n Save in Central City Plaza.

“We are still working through some things,” Campbell said. “We should have news in coming weeks.”

The plaza’s new owner, Hari Pisati, said he hoped to attract a grocery store when he purchased the 80,505-square-foot space this spring.

The opening of Horizon Market in Tarentum has been met with gratitude from borough residents.

Along with creating about six jobs, the market saw more than 15,000 transactions in its first three months, Yockey said. He believes it will serve an even larger group of people once PennDOT begins long-term work on the Tarentum Bridge late next year and residents can’t easily cross the river.

Horizon Market in New Kensington plans to follow suit, filling its shelves with ground meat, roasts, Italian grocery items, bottled coffee, Turner Dairy and Marburger Farms items, Yockey said. There will also be cereal, condiments, soda, pet food, baked goods from Mazziotti Bakery and specialties from Fazio’s.

Regular hours will start Thursday. Horizon Market will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekends.