Downtown doesn't need a Whole Foods

[betts]

Something like this would do very nicely:

Tulsa grocery store offers coffee, connection
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT
Published: November 2, 2009

TULSA — It ain’t just groceries and coffee: It’s community. That’s one way Scott Smith describes his small grocery store, Blue Jackalope Grocery & Coffee.

Smith opened his 922-square-foot store about 16 months ago in Tulsa’s Crosbie Heights, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, just west of downtown. The neighborhood has diverse residents, from senior citizens to those on food stamps to those who work downtown. The closest grocery store is three miles away, he said. Before his store opened, the only option for people without transportation was a convenience store about three-quarters of a mile away. "I set out to open a store that was going to meet the essential shopping needs of 50 percent of the residents in the neighborhood,” Smith said. "People who work, have transportation, who shop at the supermarket anyway — they can come in during the week to pick up a loaf of bread, some pasta, some vegetables, milk, things like that.”

Store about ‘trust’
Smith, who lives in the neighborhood, said his store is a throwback to the small neighborhood grocery store.
"To me, the whole idea is to be able to be competitive as a small store with the supermarkets in price,” he said. "It’s a lower profit margin (for me). I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in this for a long time and it’s about building value and trust with my customers.”

In addition to groceries, he sells coffee and sandwiches; smoked ribs are the special on Sundays. Smith said he encourages his customers to take part in conversations as they shop in the old store that was once a Church of Christ building. It took more than six months to renovate the building. Smith offers fresh vegetables and fruits, which he buys locally in season. Local products include tomatoes, lettuce, turnips, radishes, onions and okra.

He bought produce last summer from children who set up a community garden, Smith said. He also buys fresh produce from other community gardens and from farmers in and around Tulsa. "Me, I would rather buy some produce that was grown here than something that got trucked in from California or Texas,” Smith said. "It’s ridiculous to me to go to a supermarket in the middle of summer and be buying tomatoes from Texas, Mexico, California, when we’ve got plenty of them around here.”

He said his store is helping change dietary habits of some of the residents in his neighborhood. Before his store, many residents were unable to get to a store that offered nutritional foods, he said.

Read more: NewsOK

[betts]

And in a related story:

Officials seek incentives to bring grocers to Oklahoma
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT
Published: November 2, 2009

Grocery store owners are developing an appetite to move into some of the small towns and city neighborhoods where years earlier stores closed after a major discounter arrived, an Oklahoma grocery wholesaler says.

"A lot of those markets that Walmart originally came into years ago and put the ‘moms and pops’ out of business, grocers see an attraction ... to go back in there,” said Jeff Pedersen, vice president of merchandising for the state’s Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. "It just has to be financially feasible to go back in there and have a good base of business.”

Bill Wertz, regional communications director for Walmart, said, "We always welcome competition. We feel it’s good for the customer.”

Pederson said several retailers have asked his company, the only grocery wholesaler in the state, to be look for locations. Walmart sells about 60 percent of groceries in the state; his company sells to 235 grocers that make up 32 percent of the grocery market, he said. Grocery retailers would have to have a smaller store to reduce overhead and emphasize customer service, he said. "It doesn’t cost anything more to tell your employees to say, ‘Thank you,’” he told members of the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee last week.

Developing stores
Economic incentives, such as tax breaks, would be a further encouragement to get groceries back into rural areas, he said. Studies show nearly half the state lacks convenient access to nutritious foods. While grocery stores and supermarkets — stores with 50 or more employees — have decreased in the state in the past 10 years, convenience stores, which offer fast foods and snacks, have increased.

"A traditional grocery store is going to have certain offerings — you’re going to have the meat, produce and maybe some baked goods — as well as your core grocery items,” Pedersen said.

Reps. Seneca Scott and Jabar Shumate, both Tulsa Democrats, requested last week’s committee study on getting mom and pop grocery stores to move back to city neighborhoods and rural areas. Grocery stores offer healthier foods and often buy produce grown in the state, they said.

With the state facing revenue shortfalls and state agencies having their budgets cut, it will be difficult to get tax breaks or incentives, Scott said. However, he said he’s encouraged by several federal grants that could be tailored to fit grocery store development.

Scott said providing incentives to grocery stores and its healthier foods would in the long run help the state’s economy by lowering health care costs. Oklahoma ranks sixth in the nation in obesity, which leads to various health maladies such as diabetes and heart problems. It would also mean many Oklahomans would not have to choose between convenience and health, Scott said.

‘Food deserts’
A study by the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, a nonprofit educational foundation near Poteau, shows a quarter of the population in 32 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties lives 10 miles from a supermarket. All those "food deserts” are in rural areas.

But food deserts also exist in Tulsa and Oklahoma City in neighborhoods where residents have to drive at least three miles to get to a grocery store, Scott said. Many children aren’t getting fed fruits and vegetables, said Stephen Eberle, community food and gardening coordinator for the Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa. Many mothers who receive food stamps can’t cook meals or don’t have access to healthy foods, he said.

Landon Norton, with the state Health Department, said a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed a state’s healthy food retail policies aid residents’ consumption of fruits and vegetables. The report found Oklahoma had far fewer healthy food retailers than the national average and it had many food deserts. Wertz said Walmart is buying an increasing amount of locally grown produce in Oklahoma. "We know that our customers are looking for fresh, local produce and we have made a number of arrangements with local produce suppliers,” he said.

Scott said the state’s Quality Jobs Act could include grocers based on the number of people hired. Pedersen said "and it does something just for the pride of a community when you have your own grocery store.”



Read more: NewsOK

[muzique808]

I would actually drive out of my way to shop at a store like Blue Jackalope.

[PLANSIT]

I would love to see something like Cosentino's just north of the Power and Light District in downtown KC:







They have their own dedicated parking garage. Truly a wonderful grocery.

[circuitboard]

That's pretty.... =)

[betts]

That is amazing, PLANSIT. I'm not sure we have the downtown population to support a store that looks that high end, but I do think a mom and pop store here could be very successful, if located in the right place.

[PLANSIT]

See, I didn't think KC had the downtown population to support such a store, but for some reason it seems to work.

[mugofbeer]

KC has far more downtown than does OKC relatively speaking. Its got its wonderful Plaza district and all the residents in that area.

[okclee]

Cosentino's is a local Kansas City grocer that has different type of stores depending on the area of the store. Most of their grocery stores are not like the one downtown.

Now if only Crest or even Braums would put forth a unique type of downtown grocery. This would be a local business and could change over time as downtown changes.

[Urbanized]

KC has far more downtown than does OKC relatively speaking. Its got its wonderful Plaza district and all the residents in that area.

Uh... ...the Plaza is hardly downtown KC, or even especially close. It's about the same distance as Bishop McGuinness (NW 50th and Western) is to downtown OKC.

[betts]

Uh... ...the Plaza is hardly downtown KC, or even especially close. It's about the same distance as Bishop McGuinness (NW 50th and Western) is to downtown OKC.

Although it's not downtown, I think the Plaza and the adjacent Westport have an urban feel to them. You've got all the old high rise apartment buildings around the Plaza as well.

[Urbanized]

I don't disagree. I will wholeheartedly concur that KC has a lot more intact urban fabric, including BETWEEN the Plaza and Downtown. But I think the point being made was that somehow the Plaza influences the success of a downtown KC grocery store. Perhaps that people who live around the Plaza shop there? I don't know exactly what the commenter meant. But one thing has nothing to do with the other. The Plaza is nearly five miles from downtown KC.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

See, I didn't think KC had the downtown population to support such a store, but for some reason it seems to work.

If you go there at lunch time you'll find out why. They probably make most of their money from the prepared foods section, of which they probably make a killing during the work week, and mostly from commuters not from local residents. Great lunch spot. Was there for a week and if you didn't get there before 11 it was pretty crowded (although they had enough staff to handle the rush).

I agree with most here that it doesn't have to be WF and can be a local grocer like Cosentino's (which I think would be wonderful) but having a local grocer to provide such a concept downtown would probably take more effort and investment than just waiting for a WF to get here (which I think it eventually will). I think it will definitely pay off though.

[PLANSIT]

I don't disagree. I will wholeheartedly concur that KC has a lot more intact urban fabric, including BETWEEN the Plaza and Downtown. But I think the point being made was that somehow the Plaza influences the success of a downtown KC grocery store. Perhaps that people who live around the Plaza shop there? I don't know exactly what the commenter meant. But one thing has nothing to do with the other. The Plaza is nearly five miles from downtown KC.

Yeah, Country Club Plaza is pretty far away. I was thinking mugofbeer was referring to the redevelopment between DT and Crown Center.

[PLANSIT]

If you go there at lunch time you'll find out why. They probably make most of their money from the prepared foods section, of which they probably make a killing during the work week, and mostly from commuters not from local residents. Great lunch spot. Was there for a week and if you didn't get there before 11 it was pretty crowded (although they had enough staff to handle the rush).

I agree with most here that it doesn't have to be WF and can be a local grocer like Cosentino's (which I think would be wonderful) but having a local grocer to provide such a concept downtown would probably take more effort and investment than just waiting for a WF to get here (which I think it eventually will). I think it will definitely pay off though.

Your right, there were a ton of people getting to-go lunch and it looked awesome. That is a perfect grocery concept for a growing downtown populace.

[okclee]

So how do we get one in Okc?

[Sara Belle]

A Whole Foods with good access from the highway would be nice, like 39th and Portland.

[Platemaker]

The Packard Building at 10th and Broadway would be a great upscale grocery store.

[foodiefan]

A Whole Foods with good access from the highway would be nice, like 39th and Portland.

. . . right up my alley!!

[max]

I would prefer more smaller, independent neighborhood food markets. It's a matter of preference, but I would like to see us get away from the mindset of putting one huge business in a "central location" and having the population of the entire sprawling metro area drive 10+ miles to it. A WF in addition would be fine, choice is always great, but I wouldn't consider it over the smaller market concept. It's not quite enough, but I'm very glad to see Market C and Forward Foods putting in stores and starting some momentum on this.

[kd5ili]

Working at OU Medical Center, there are many times that it would be very convenient to have a grocery store downtown. When we do potluck, money pool for sandwich stuff, etc we have to drive to Penn and 23rd to the store there.

-Chris-

[JayhawkTransplant]

The Cosentino's in the P&L District in KC does do quite well.

As a downtown resident, I'm really hoping to see some sort of grocery downtown, no matter the size. The Homeland at 29th and Classen is the closest grocery store to me, and frankly, it's pretty gross. I would love to be able to walk to a store a few times a week, so long as it is clean and carries decent produce.