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Seaside’s plan to bring a supermarket to the City Center Shopping Center has been more than four years in the making.

Those efforts are finally bearing fruit: Grocery Outlet, the nationally branded supermarket, is finalizing plans for a Seaside franchise, according to City Center developer Patrick Orosco of The Orosco Group.

“I am certain they are moving forward. They are waiving contingencies tomorrow or the next day,” he says. “Grocery Outlet already has a building permit and a conditional use permit. They have all their ducks in a row to move forward."

Also expected to join City Center: a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. The use permit allows the sale of food and alcohol for sit-down dining.

The Orosco Group, which pledged to bring a nationally branded supermarket to City Center, has had difficulty finding a grocery store that will lease out the designated space. A previous contender, Fresh and Easy, was slated for the City Center but ended up in Monterey.

If Grocery Outlet comes to fruition, the 16,000-square-foot market will be constructed on a vacant lot in the downtown shopping center on Broadway Avenue and Fremont Boulevard. Orosco expects to break ground on the project next month and finish the building's exterior by the end of this year.

Orosco claims that Grocery Outlet will be open for business in January or February of next year. But given the roller coaster ride thus far, Seaside residents won’t be holding their breath.