TALLADEGA — Work is already under way to prepare for a Save A Lot discount grocery store and a Shoe Show in the building that previously housed Food World.

According to leasing agent Matt Klump of RCG Ventures in Atlanta, the leases for both businesses have been signed. The Shoe Show will occupy 5,500 square, the Save A Lot 18,500 square, and there will still be 6,000 square feet of available space inside the building.

Construction for Shoe Show is expected to take about 60 days, while the Save A Lot will need about 120, plus “their side putting in things like refrigerator cases and other business specific things. They might be able to open by December, but it may end up being the first of next year,” Klump said.

He estimated the overall capital investment for the project was “north of a million dollars, but that’s not an official figure or anything. That’s just a ballpark estimate, including the property improvements and the commitments and everything else.”

Klump said he was not certain how many jobs the two new businesses would create or what the overall payroll might be.

According to the company’s website, “Save-A-Lot is one of the nation's leading extreme value, carefully selected assortment grocery chains, operating nearly 1,200 value-oriented stores in all types of neighborhoods — urban, rural and suburban. We deliver our customers terrific savings, up to 40 percent compared to conventional grocery stores.

“Our Save-A-Lot grocery store network spans from Maine to California, serving more than 4 million shoppers each week. Customers enjoy grocery store bargains on exclusive Save-A-Lot brands and national brands, plus USDA-inspected beef, pork and poultry, farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and non-food items,” the site says.

Shoe Show bills itself as the “world’s largest independent shoe retailer.” There was a Talladega location in the Wal-Mart shopping center, but it has closed.

Contact Chris Norwood at cnorwood@dailyhome.com