Auction of former Friedman’s makes way for expanding business
BUTLER TWP — Friedman’s Fresh Market in the Greater Butler Mart has sat vacant since 2018, along with the now-empty shelves, refrigerator boxes and freezer cases.
Those fixtures got a chance at new life, as nearly 100 people attended an auction of the idle equipment Saturday, March 4, morning.
The auction made the former grocery store space available for an expanding business, according to an official from Brandywine Communities, which owns the plaza.
“It’s a good turnout,” a Brandywine official said of the event.
Nearly 300 items were being offered up and bid on for hundreds of dollars apiece. From stainless-steel sinks to deli cases to uncommon lighting fixtures to bakery racks or a claw machine, all of the equipment has sat untouched for four years.
The M@C Discount store, is looking to house smaller items in the former Friedman’s as a secondary location. Consumers can purchase items M@C Discount offers online and will be able to pick them it at either site. Its current home in the former Trader Horn store in Greater Butler Mart is twice the size of the former grocery store, officials said.
M@C Discount’s move-in date is approximately May 1, according to officials.
Folks waited anxiously as John Huey II, an auctioneer from Slippery Rock, called out the prices in rapid-fire fashion.
“What you bid is what you pay,” he said at the auction’s start. “You get it all as it comes.”
Officials said business owners traveled from Ohio and West Virginia to be at the auction.
The Bauldoff family, of Chicora, said they came out to the auction for “a good deal.” They were looking for anything they could use on their farm, where they raise and process beef. They purchased some steel cutting tables.
Courtney Bauldoff cultivated some fun at the auction, pushing her son, Easton, 7, and daughter Addilynn, 4, in a grocery cart with a “kiddie car” attachment.
“I thought getting the cart would be fun,” she said as her children laughed from inside.
All items from the auction need to be removed in the next two weeks, according to the listing. Officials said they are not worried about having leftover items following the auction.
“Everything’s been selling,” they said. “Some stuff is going for unbelievable money.”
This story was updated at 12:45 p.m., March 8, to reflect the correct move-in date for M@C Discount. A previous version of this story said the move-in date was April 1.
