A growing food market in Rock Hill is temporarily closed after recently sustaining fire damage. But a co-owner of the business sees the misfortune as an opportunity to rebuild a more improved store for its community.
"It's not the same neighborhood that it was when the store was up and running, so we're definitely looking forward to getting back out there," said Magloire Lubika, co-owner of Surefire Neighborhood Market.
Surefire is a family-owned small convenience store that was founded in 2001. It was then known as Jeman Express, located on West Boulevard in Charlotte, which has since closed. In 2012, a second location opened in Rock Hill named Mama Yala. Last year, that location was remodeled to Surefire, bringing a more modern convenience-store feel to Sunset Park, a predominantly Black neighborhood. Surefire sits at Ogden and Friedheim roads.
On July 14, the convenience store sustained more than $100,000 in fire damage, Lubika said. The blaze broke out in the kitchen soon after employees left the market. Surefire expects the store to reopen in about six to eight months.
Surefire plans to relocate its mobile food truck that has been stationed at nearby Slow Play Brewing to Sunset Park next month. It will remain there until the store’s upfit is complete.
"Since the fire, there has been a noticeable gap in food access for the community, and we want to continue being an anchor for both food access and community support as we work with the insurance company to rebuild," Lubika told CBJ.
Before the fire, the market was experiencing "tremendous growth," he said. Lubika sums up Surefire as filling a gap in the Sunset Park community, as there were minimal food options available in the area for decades.
"For all that to stop, it was just very heartbreaking for us and our community," he said.
Although the fire brought challenges, Lubika said it allows the business to bring Surefire to a new level. That involves a complete rebuild inside and out, installing floor-to-ceiling windows, adding a food-delivery option, getting a second food truck and expanding to markets such as Charlotte and Atlanta.
Surefire is working with Habitat for Humanity of York County on the store's remodel. It has experienced an "outpouring of support" from the surrounding community to help it get back on track, Lubika said. It's accepting donations for the rebuild.
In 2021, Lubika and his two younger brothers took over ownership of Surefire from their parents, who have served in the convenience-store industry for more than two decades. Lubika said growing up as an employee for his parents over the years taught him how much convenience stores mean to underserved communities. And the creation of Surefire, he said, is even more key to his updated vision of the store.
"Where we took it with Surefire means a lot more because it's like the second generation of retail," Lubika said. "It turned out to be one of the best decisions that we ever made. And so, just continuing to build on top of what my parents did, I think it really means a lot."
This year, Lubika was also a judge in Score Charlotte's Pitch for Growth competition. The program allows budding and aspiring business owners to compete against one another to win funding and valuable business services. Surefire was the winner in the 2023 competition, receiving $5,000 in funding. It is using that capital toward the development of its food-delivery platform.
"If we gave up, we would have never been able to see the other side of it," Lubika said of his entrepreneurship journey. "You have to stay consistent. You have to go through the ups and downs, and believe that this is going to be able to get you to wherever you want to be."
