The new store, owned by store president Sangho Kwak and run as a collaboration between he and principal investors Richard Choi, Robert Lipscomb, and Sang Choi, is the area’s only current supermarket and takes off where Rite-Aid stopped — adding fourteen jobs to the area and rounding out the list of services and industries available in the Midtown. “Having the Sayford Supermarket located within steps of the Broad Street Market further augments the many shopping opportunities in Midtown,” Mayor Stephen R. Reed said, adding, “Within two blocks, you can dine, be entertained, procure the finest in fresh market and grocery products, shop for clothing, jewelry, gardening or other products and services, and all without ever having to get behind the wheel of a car …”

Spanning more than 7,000 square feet, Sayford Supermarket is a full-service grocery store, offering sections for fresh produce, frozen goods, canned and perishable items, and household goods — an inventory that boasts more than 6,000 different items. In addition, the supermarket prides itself on stocking the region’s largest selection of Goya food products. “We stock a lot of Goya products because there are a lot of Spanish people who like Goya and they didn’t have a choice (before),” Richard Choi says, smiling, “So, they complained to me … and now everybody is happy.”

The addition of Sayford to the Midtown area is a coup for both the area’s residents and its business workers, filling in the gap that was missing as a result of both Rite Aid’s departure and the absence of a grocery store. “There was no supermarket around here,” Choi notes, adding that that factor was one of the principal reasons he and his group decided to bring the establishment to the Midtown, adding, “now we get neighbors from everywhere.” Sayford’s presence also thrills the Mayor, who notes, “We are particularly delighted to welcome the Sayford Supermarket to Harrisburg’s growing business base,” continuing, “because its presence substantially increases the economic vitality of the Midtown Market District and helps to meet the needs of a community that has been largely ignored by such retailers in recent decades.”