Red Bridge Sun Fresh Sold
By Brad Lucht
David Ball is the new owner of the Sun Fresh grocery store in Red Bridge. The store was put on the market about six months ago, after the death of George Lipari. The sale was finalized Monday, August 6.
“My dad bought this store from his dad, so it’s come full circle,” said George’s son Ross, who took over the management of the store after his father’s passing. “They [the Ball family] bought this from Payless, then my dad bought this store from him.”
George Lipari had plans to renovate the store, and had the financing in place before he fell ill. “We’re going to try it one more time,” Ross remembers his dad saying. Now Ball is going to follow through on those plans.
“They have the financial means to do what it takes for this store to be, what Dad wanted it to be,” Lipari said. “They’re going to put a lot of money into it.”
The store will undergo a full remodel at the start of 2019. A pharmacy will be added, complete with drive-through, along with a new stand-alone liquor store called Harry’s Liquor.
Lipari is looking forward to the future.
“I’m happy. The customers are going to be happy. They’re going to see some good stuff.
They’ve told me what they’ve wanted; they’re going to get what they want. Everybody’s going to be happy. From the customer’s standpoint, the employees, to my family.”
“My dad saw something here (when he bought the store),” Lipari continued. “And I think there still is something here, especially with the rebuilding of the shopping center. I think it’s booming.”
Ball owns 29 stores in the Kansas City area, including Price Choppers, Hen Houses, and now the Red Bridge Sun Fresh. This is their third Sun Fresh store, all recently purchased. There are nine Sun Fresh stores, all independently owned. Ball also owns Tippin Pies.
When all is said and done, Lipari is glad the uncertainty is over.
“It is such a relief for me, taken so much weight off my shoulders. I would have done anything to continue it; I was doing everything I could.
“God works in mysterious ways,” Liapri concluded. “This is all what it was meant to be.”