Lund Food Holdings Inc. said this week it plans to open a second supermarket in downtown Minneapolis, according to published reports. The 30,000-square-foot store would be on the ground floor of a mixed-use project now in development on Hennepin Avenue.

The grocer has signed a long-term lease with Minneapolis-based developer Alatus, LLC for the site, which is between 10th and 11th streets.

Construction is slated begin in autumn 2009, with no completion date set as yet, Lunds spokesman Aaron Sorenson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Lunds' first downtown store opened at University and Central avenues in 2006. The Edina, Minn.-based company's chairman and c.e.o., Tres Lund has emphasized the "tremendous need" for full-service supermarkets in the area.

The new store will have a format like that of the first downtown location, heavily featuring premium prepared foods geared toward an urban clientele. The grocer describes the first downtown store as performing above expectations.

Lund Food Holdings has 10 Lunds and 11 Byerly's supermarkets in the Twin Cities region.