Bridgeport continues to slake its appetite for economic development. Not only is there a new grocery store downtown, but now it includes a cafe.
A few months after opening its doors in the historic Arcade mall, Ripka”™s Bridgeport Market has opened a cafe and bar serving drinks, soups, salads, and entrees. But more than just feeding the neighborhood, it”™s helping the municipality trade in its image as a crime-ridden city for a trendy, upcoming community.
“You have to come in and see it,” said owner Clyde Ripka. “People say they can”™t believe it”™s in Bridgeport, frankly because all they think about when they hear of the city is the image of the ”™70s and ”™80s.”
Stop into the market today and Ripka says you might think you”™ve walk into a Manhattan Whole Foods, but maybe cheaper. Customers can fill up on blue stilton cheese, fresh branzino fish (sometimes called European sea bass) and locally grown tomatoes in one stop. Walk in for Raw Bar Thursday happy hours and you may find yourself indelicately slurping down $1 shrimp and oysters.
The store is considerably smaller than a full-size grocery store, however the nearest full grocery is more than four miles away, while Ripka”™s sits in the middle of the downtown transportation hub. The market is within walking distance of the train station, bus stops and ferry.
But as the market comes into its own, Ripka admitted sales have been slower than expected. A summer full of rainy days hasn”™t helped either.
“More people come in every day, so we”™ll stabilize at some point,” he said. “It”™s slow in the summer ”” for everyone. But if I had known, I would have held off (opening).”
The face of Bridgeport”™s rebranding, Mayor Bill Finch, said he understood new stores would likely have their fits and starts as they got off the ground, but also said the city is attracting the different elements it needs. Its downtown population is on a path to triple as new development projects and residential buildings finish construction.
“We need to reinvent this as a walking neighborhood,” Finch said. “It needs dry cleaning, a movie theater, entertainment and food ”¦ everything we do that makes the city better, makes the city better for everyone, whether they live in the city or not.”
Ripka, who also owns markets and cafes in other Fairfield County towns, said above all his mission was to serve the community and sell the items they need downtown.
“The idea is not to just build a restaurant but become a part of the community,” Ripka said. “Every day people who live just blocks away come in and say they can”™t believe it”™s theirs. It”™s Bridgeport”™s market more than Ripka”™s. It”™s about being embedded into the community and responding to people”™s needs.”
