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Myers’ Market property, but not business, goes up for sale
On Sunday, a “for sale” sign was placed on the front lawn of 302 E. Washington St., Greencastle, a location more commonly known for almost a decade as Myers’ Market.
While the property, owned by DePauw University, may be on the market, proprietor Mitch Myers wants the public to know in no uncertain terms that the business is not for sale.
“Whatever the circumstances may be going forward, our dedication is still to provide the goods and services that we are right now,” Myers told the Banner Graphic. “It may look different depending on the situation.”
The property of 300-302 E. Washington St. officially went up for sale on Friday with a listing on the Prime Real Estate Group website and a list price of $290,000. Prime broker Eric Wolfe confirmed the listing price was from a recent appraisal.
Emphasizing the way the market has tried to give back to the community since it was founded in September 2013, Myers said he did not believe that could continue at the same level if he were to pay the university’s asking price.
“At the price they’re asking, we don’t feel we can provide what we do to the community in the way we have,” Myers said. “From the get-go we said, ‘This community supports us, and we want to support this community.’”
DePauw Vice President of Finance and Administration Andrea Young confirmed the university is looking to sell the property and said it is trying to be as responsible as possible with its resources.
“As part of the strategic planning process, DePauw University assessed how our resources align with our strategic priorities and mission,” Young said. “As a non-profit, we need to be thoughtful stewards of our resources, ensuring alignment with our mission. Our protocol for selling property is to list real estate at its appraised value, which is what we are doing in the instance of 302 E. Washington St.”
While neither side commented specifically on prior negotiations, Myers did say that he had approached the university more than once in the last nine-plus years about possibly selling the property, but only in the last 18 months had there been any traction.
After a preliminary deal fell through, the university apparently came back with the current asking price, but Myers was not willing to pay that price.
“We had put in an offer that we were comfortable with but it wasn’t an offer that they were willing to consider or even negotiate, I guess,” Myers said.
For now, Myers’ Market will continue to do business at its current location until something changes. When and if that time comes, Myers wants to assure the public that his deli and butcher shop will find a way to continue doing business.
“We like being that place where you can come and rub elbows with the students and with people from the community and have a nice melting pot of people,” Myers said.
For her part, Young said she’s been happy to be a part of that melting pot.
“Small businesses like Myers’ Market are important to our community. DePauw has been pleased to support Myers’ Market as their landlord for the past decade,” Young said. “Personally, I love the sandwiches and gummy bears at Myers’ Market, and I look forward to shopping there in the future.”
Whatever moves the future holds, Myers said support of the community isn’t going anywhere.
“We’re still dedicated to the community,” Myers said. “We have a lot of things in the works — and some of it is very exciting — that will help our ability to support the community even better than what we have been so far.”