Sentry Foods Opens on Northwest Side
New grocery on 63rd and Silver Spring brings fresh produce, meat and more to a food desert.
Sentry Foods, 6350 W. Silver Spring Dr. Photo courtesy of Paul Williams.
Sentry Foods is now open on Milwaukee’s Northwest Side, providing fresh fruits, vegetables and meats to nearby residents for the first time in several years.
The new store, 6350 W. Silver Spring Dr., is centrally located within a former fresh food desert. It’s the first grocer to open in the area since its predecessor closed in late 2019.
“Everyone should have access to fresh and healthy food within their neighborhood,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at an Oct. 20 opening event. “The addition of Sentry Foods to the Northwest Side is a major development for the residents of the area, and it will help continue the transformation that is happening with new housing, businesses, and neighborhood improvements.”
The Northwest Side’s Sentry Foods, one of nine locations for the chain throughout the state, is just one of several revitalization efforts planned for the area that includes Westlawn Gardens, Silver Spring, Havenwoods and other nearby neighborhoods. Additional projects include a new pharmacy, restaurant and a soon-to-open taproom and beer garden, according to a news release.
Bharat Bansal, owner of the new Sentry Foods as well as several others in the Milwaukee area, said he’s happy to add momentum to the neighborhood’s continued revitalization.
“We want to bring the high-quality Sentry grocery experience to the residents of this community,” he said. “We are excited to be joining the neighborhood transformation at this pivotal time.”
The store occupies a 14,000-square-foot space within a larger, strip mall-style building. The site was once home to a Kohl’s Food Store, which later became MKE Food Market. The independently-owned food store closed in 2019 after “complaints about food quality,” according to a news release.
In the years since, area residents have consistently requested a full-service, quality grocery store, said Willie Hines, Jr., secretary-executive director for the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee.
“It’s important for all residents of the area to have access to the services they need to live happy, healthy lives,” he said. “We are extremely thankful to Sentry Foods for making the commitment to this area.”
In addition to the patronage of nearby residents, the store will service “thousands of commuters” who pass through the W. Silver Spring Drive commercial corridor each day, said Stephanie Harling, executive director of Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership and Business Improvement District #31.
The commercial corridor is also at the heart of the Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI), which aims to “revitalize the former Westlawn public housing development and surrounding neighborhoods into an inclusive, sustainable community of opportunity with quality housing, schools, businesses, services, and amenities.”
CNI strategies include the construction of over 700 new mixed-income homes and apartments in Westlawn Gardens, new retail spaces, parks, playgrounds, a small business revolving loan fund, grants for exterior improvements to commercial buildings and other initiatives.
“Access to fresh, healthy food is key to a community’s health, and this community has been working collaboratively for over 15 years to improve access for its residents,” said Paul Williams, CNI coordinator. “Today, that goal has been realized with this investment by Sentry Foods.”
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