Facing financial challenges, the north Minneapolis grocer North Market will close in February and relaunch later in the year.
Pillsbury United Communities, the store’s nonprofit owner, announced last week it plans to tweak the store’s model and reopen in the second half of 2026.
“The grocery industry operates on extremely thin margins‚" Anthony Washington, the interim president and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities, said in a statement. “Without the scale and purchasing leverage of large chains, North Market was unable to operate as a self-sustaining enterprise.”
North Market, one of few full-service grocery stores on the city’s north side, opened in Webber-Camden in 2017. It was billed as a community-oriented solution to the lack of grocers in the neighborhood, which was deemed a “food desert.”
Access to food remains a major challenge in neighborhoods across the Twin Cities and the country.
This year, several Minneapolis elected officials joined leaders in other cities to call on local governments to step in. Minneapolis’ amended city budget for 2026 includes $200,000 in one-time funding toward the development of a potentially city-owned grocery store in a food-insecure neighborhood.
Washington cited rising costs, fluctuating philanthropic dollars and inflation as causes for the North Market closure. The store relied on philanthropy for 30% of its funding, according to a July report on municipal grocers from the city.
North Market, located at 4414 Humboldt Av. N., could not continue covering ongoing financial losses.
