ST. GABRIEL- The simplicity of traveling less than 10 minutes to buy something as simple as a fruit or vegetable is something people in the city don't always think about, but for residents in St. Gabriel, getting groceries can be a journey.Many people in St. Gabriel have to travel to Baton Rouge, G onzales or Dutchtown to go to a supermarket. Resident Sandra Perera says she has to travel seven miles to find meat or produce.nbsp;"We have a Dollar General right here, and they have a good bit of things, but it's still not enough, you know, for when you cooking a meal or anything like that," Perera said.A supermarket within city limits is something Mayor Lionel Johnson Jr. and Councilman Randall Johnson say residents have been asking for."I got neighbors on my street always saying when they got to stop traveling 13 miles for an onion or a bell pepper," Randall Johnson said.Along Nicholson Drive, next to the St. Gabriel Community Center and the Math, Science, and Arts Academy - East, sits more than 18 acres of land, now purchased by the city for its first supermarket and possibly other retail stores."We thought rather than just purchasing a small acreage for a grocery store, our retail vision is much larger, and so we own the land. We are able to bring our entire retail vision to fruition," Lionel Johnson said.Lionel Johnson says the city paid a little over $3 million for the land, but also received a $500,000 donation for it."Acknowledgment and appreciation to the LeBlanc family, Price LeBlanc, and Gordon LeBlanc. The LeBlancs have been long-time benefactors of St. Gabriel, and they really came to the table and assisted us with this venture," he said.Lionel Johnson says he, along with the council, studied several different cities and municipally-owned grocery stores. He says they attended national conferences for shopping centers and grocers."We have one, two, three subdivisions that are pending that will affect La. 30. And so what used to be a simple drive for us to Baton Rouge is no longer a simple drive for us," Lionel Johnson said.While things are still in the works as to which company will use the land for the supermarket, Lionel Johnson said they've had some productive conversations with Associated Grocers."To have that convenience of if it's late at night, and you need to find something, you don't have to go all the way out the way, burn gas, and do all that to get to something that you really, really need when we got it right here," St. Gabriel City Councilman Hoza Redditt said.Lionel Johnson encourages residents to be engaged, but also patient, through the process. He says there won't be a supermarket in three or four months, but he says he's confident it will come to fruition.Permalink| Comments ...read more read less