Joe and Mariam Maldonado aim to bring high-quality meats and produce to the Allied-Dunn’s Marsh area. The store renovation was delayed through multiple setbacks, including flooding.
When Mariam and Joe Maldonado announced plans to open a grocery store in Madison’s Allied-Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood, city officials and area residents alike were thrilled with the proposal. The low-income neighborhood on the city’s west side had been without a full-service grocery since 2009, leaving residents cut off from access to affordable, healthy food. In March, the Madison Common Council approved a $157,735 grant through the Healthy Retail Access Program to help Luna’s Groceries set up shop at 2010 Red Arrow Trail.
The store was projected to open mid-August, but the Maldonados experienced a series of setbacks that delayed the project. The new opening date is Nov. 15. First, workers found asbestos in the floor and had to remove it. Then there was a plumbing mishap. Next, the heavy rains flooded the building and damaged the drywall. Then somebody broke their windows.
Even worse, the flooding ruined more than $20,000 worth of equipment donated by UW Health that was being held at an offsite storage building. The Maldonados tried to salvage some of the pieces. But during the course of moving things between the storage building to the store, thieves somehow made off with an enormous freezer — a piece so big the Maldonados assumed it was safe to leave outside temporarily.
“It just felt like one thing after another,” Mariam Maldonado says. But she doesn’t want to call it bad luck — she prefers to think of it as a series of challenges making things interesting. “I have this theory about my life,” she says. “In order for me to have something really good, I have to go through some kind of crisis.”
Last month, the Maldonados launched an online campaign, hoping to raise $50,000 to help offset the unforeseen expenses. As of Nov. 7, supporters have contributed more than $22,000. The couple invested more than $40,000 in personal capital and took out loans to launch the business. “We have our reputation and our financial well-being invested, and we’re hoping people see how much we care,” Maldonado says. “It’s not just about the business, but about the community we can build around Luna’s.”
The Maldonados have lived in the Allied-Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood for six years and have deep ties to community organizations — Mariam works as an employment training supervisor at the Urban League of Greater Madison and Joe is director of community impact in academic success at the United Way of Dane County. They have already begun interviewing and hiring employees, many who live in the neighborhood. The grocery will offer a variety of specialty products catering to the ethnically diverse clientele they hope to attract — high quality meats and hard-to-find produce items like plantains and collard greens.
“I’m going to bring the neighborhood mix into the store,” Maldonado says. And despite the difficulties, she’s optimistic about the store’s future. “I have zero regrets. It’s going to be amazing.”
