Sugar Bakers opening downtown market called Urbana

Goodbye to the downtown food desert. Sugar Bakers Bistro-Bakery at 2766 Santa Fe in Corpus Christi is opening a new deli and market at 424 N. Chaparral St. to be called Urbana. Across the street from the newly built Cosmopolitian Apartments, it comes with a readymade clientele for shelves stocked with popular super market items.
The deli and market replace Sonja’s Restaurant and Bakery, which closed in June 2014. Ironically, the closing may have been facilitated by a conflux of construction on Chaparral Street, including building the new apartment complex and street improvements, that cut into customer foot traffic. Those same improvements, now completed, will have the opposite effect on Christian and Ashely Bernard’s latest business venture. The pair own both Sugar Bakers and Urbana. 
According to the real estate listing for the property, the building size is 9,253 square feet with a penthouse apartment on the third floor. The large, vacant space on the second floor “offers lots of possibilities,” reads the ad.
Advertised as a great opportunity for two local businesses with two entrances, the single buyer plans to do just that. Aside from basic groceries, a deli with ready-to-eat meals and custom sandwiches, the space will include tables and chairs for dining in. Other space could be used to host special events or an art gallery. Sugar Baker’s closed on the sale in November 2015.
The grocery/deli is the first new business to occupy that block since street construction concluded. It is also among the first to receive Chaparral Street Property Improvement Grant money. A tax reimbursement of $72,800 was granted to property by the downtown reinvestment zone board of directors. According to documents filed with the city, the money will be used to replace the building’s roof, paint the outside and provide new signage. The entire renovation is expected to cost $145,600.