Cub Foods in Uptown reopens with new layout

Cub Foods in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis is back in business.

The grocery store at 1104 Lagoon Av. reopened Thursday with a new look after being closed since June for repairs and improvements.

Customers will see a larger entrance, a new layout designed to make it easier to navigate the store and more products, according to Cub’s parent company United Natural Foods Inc., or UNFI.

Uptown’s reopening comes as Cub prepares to permanently shutter its store in St. Paul’s Midway area. Officials said the store on University Avenue will close at the end of August, leaving 96 employees without a job and those in the neighborhood with one less place to shop.

“These repairs and improvements reflect Cub’s commitment to providing a high-quality, high-value shopping experience that our customers have come to know and expect from the brand,” UNFI said of the reopened Cub in a statement.

Shoppers at the Cub store were happy to see it back open. Carl Johnson, 78, said he bikes to the store and had to double his commute when it was closed.

“They did a very nice job of cleaning it up, making it look fresh and modern,” Johnson said of the renovated building. “I hope it stays open because they do close stores like they’re closing that one in St. Paul, the Midway store. … I hope the customers come back. I specifically went out of my way today to check and make sure it’s open, and get my [groceries].”

Ben Polzin, 36, lives a block away from the Uptown Cub and said getting groceries during the closure was complicated because he doesn’t drive.

“I moved around here because it’s so close to the Cub, so it was lame when it was closed for a couple months,” Polzin said. “I luckily don’t get my prescriptions here, but if I would, it definitely would’ve made things more complicated.”

Andy Mangan, 32, said Cub’s closure forced him to drive for groceries instead of biking.