The Schnucks store under construction in Warrenton is moving closer to its fall opening.“I do not have an exact date but we plan to be serving customers before the holidays,” said Paul Simon, senior communications specialist for Schnuck Markets, Inc.At 37,000 square feet, the new Schnucks store on Veterans Parkway near Highway 47 will have a smaller footprint than the company’s other stores.Simon said the small-format store will allow customers to quickly navigate the aisles, while also placing a heavy emphasis on fresh bakery, produce, seafood, and meat offerings.Simon said the store will hire 71 people.“We usually start hiring about six weeks out. When we start hiring, that’s usually a good indication of when we’re about to open,” he said.The company had planned to name it Bent Oak Plaza but recently decided on “Bent Oak Crossing.” It gets its name from a bent oak tree that experts say is likely a Native American trail marker from hundreds of years ago.Construction has not begun on the development’s planned retail space. Simon said construction will begin on the retail space when they have secured tenants.Schnuck Markets Inc., which is run by the third generation of the Schnuck family, was founded in St. Louis in 1939. It is still family-owned. The company gives more than $13 million annually in food to food pantries and more than $1.5 million to nonprofit organizations through the company’s My Schnucks Card program.Schnucks operates 100 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa and employs more than 13,000.

Despite what appears to be fast progress, the Schnucks store under construction on Veteran's Memorial Parkway at Highway 47 in Warrenton is still looking at a fall opening. 

Record photo/Kate Miller