Wheeze the Juice (formerly Native Roots)

[Uptowner]

Should rebrand to “uptown bodega.” With the deli counter it really reminds me of an urban grocery. I haven’t had a sandwich there since they opened the counter though, all they had was white or wheat, 3kinds is cold cuts, yellow or white cheese, etc. Has it gotten better?

I know some business owners get really really attached to their brand. But even though I’m aware of it I never think about stopping there when I’m in the hood visiting my buddy at his brownstone down the block because of the original concept of farm to shelf.

[Pete]

Downtown's only grocery store to re-brand

It was late 2012 when Native Roots opened in the Level apartment complex and it represented the fulfillment of a long-held goal of many downtown advocates: the first truly urban grocery store in Oklahoma City in decades.

After some tinkering with the product mix, a few months ago patrons discovered a shift away from mostly unique, boutique and organic choices to selections typically found in most grocery stores, just in smaller quantities and selection to suit the smaller space.

It was soon revealed that Uptown Grocery Company was involved and using their supply network to adjust the product offerings.

Uptown opened its first store near Covell and Kelly in Edmond then followed with a location in the Village in February of 2016. Native Roots relocated from downtown Norman.

A recent visit to the Deep Deuce store at NE 2nd and Walnut shows that the layout is the same and the deli at the rear is still operating and thriving, but that the product mix is indeed more mainstream.

Now, plans have been submitted to the Downtown Design Review Committee which show the intention of completely removing the Native Roots signage in favor of Uptown Grocery.

As such items as signage are usually reviewed through an administrative process rather than a full committee vote, the change has already been approved by the body.

Employees at the store indicated that the change has been underway for some time.

The re-merchandising and name change also comes just as Homeland has finally commenced their thorough remodel and update to the next closest grocery store at NW 18th and Classen.

Read here to learn more about that Homeland project.

[Anonymous.]

Yea this only makes sense, this place is totally different now than it used to be. As mentioned in posts here a few months ago, the products are actually normal and convenient with prices that are close to regular store pricing.

[AP]

A friend mentioned to me that his receipts from there have already had the Uptown branding for a couple months now, as well.

[Pete]

I couldn't get the Uptown people to return my calls over the last few weeks...

But I was told by an employee that Matt & Sarah (the original proprietors) are still involved.

[TheirTheir]

If you live downtown you shop at Uptown downtown instead of driving to Uptown.

[Pete]

If you live downtown you shop at Uptown downtown instead of driving to Uptown.

If you live downtown you shop at Uptown downtown instead of driving to Uptown or The Village or Edmond for Uptown.

And you'll soon go to the old Uptown Theater which is in Midtown unlike the Tower Theater which is in Uptown.

[TheirTheir]

If you live downtown you shop at Uptown downtown instead of driving to Uptown or The Village or Edmond for Uptown.

And you'll soon go to the old Uptown Theater which is in Midtown unlike the Tower Theater which is in Uptown.

[Urbanized]

A friend mentioned to me that his receipts from there have already had the Uptown branding for a couple months now, as well.

They had taken over operations and were evaluating the location, but not committed to it. I haven't any new insight other than that, but to me the sign application is a good indication that they are now 100% in.

[Pete]

They had taken over operations and were evaluating the location, but not committed to it. I haven't any new insight other than that, but to me the sign application is a good indication that they are now 100% in.

This is pretty much what the employee at the counter told me.

[bchris02]

This is very much a step in the right direction. Native Roots has/had an image problem and given the change in business model, rebranding is necessary. Most people still think of Native Roots as the specialty store that it used to be.

[Ross MacLochness]

I think people will be much more inclined to drive an extra block east to Walnut as they drive home from work and grab a few items with this new signage and branding. Definitely a step in the right direction for them.

[no1cub17]

Cool - interested to see how this goes. We used to be regular customers at NR but rarely go there of late, despite it being a 30 second walk from home. Maybe time to give it another shot! Happy that Matt and Sara are still involved.

[Plutonic Panda]

Will Native Roots return to Norman? I liked their selections and the specialty store they used to be.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^
I don't believe so. Every bit as much as they were missing some traditional grocery business in downtown, their biggest problem was probably the mainstreaming of organic options. Back when they were very successful in Norman there were very few options in the metro for the type of products they sold, so they had a very loyal customer base from far and wide. At this point that market segment has been eroded terribly by the arrival of Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Sprouts, and even the expansion of organic options within mainstream supermarkets.

[Pete]

Even the remodeled Homeland on Classen plans to increase their organic offerings.

[Urbanized]

Even the remodeled Homeland on Classen plans to increase their organic offerings.

Haha obviously the worst possible example of a grocery store in your opinion. You could barely spit out the words into your keyboard!

[Pete]

That store has been so bad it made me feel worse about being an Oklahoman. How could such a place even exist in this day and age?

I'm pretty close to feeling the same way about almost all the area 7-11's.

[bchris02]

That store has been so bad it made me feel worse about being an Oklahoman. How could such a place even exist in this day and age?

No competition. If OKC had quality grocery chains like Reasor's, Kroger, Ralph's, Harris Teeter, etc, there's no way it could have stayed in business. If the store wasn't basically the only full-service grocery store in the urban core, it also probably wouldn't have made it. Also, if you think that store pre-remodel was bad, Whitaker's on NW 10th is much worse.

[Johnb911]

No competition. If OKC had quality grocery chains like Reasor's, Kroger, Ralph's, Harris Teeter, etc, there's no way it could have stayed in business. If the store wasn't basically the only full-service grocery store in the urban core, it also probably wouldn't have made it. Also, if you think that store pre-remodel was bad, Whitaker's on NW 10th is much worse.

This is why I'm still surprised that they're going through with the remodel, now that the gold dome grocery option is donezo. Their attitude towards improvement seems to only be 'if somebody better is going to threaten the location.'

[Pete]

There is WAY more competition in just the last few years:

Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Aldi, Winco, Natural Grocers, Sprouts, etc., etc. Even Walmart is stepping up their game with their automated pick-ups and more.

[Johnb911]

I meant competition in the immediate vicinity. Just based on the May & Britton location, they did a huge overhaul right before Whole Foods opened on the other side of Nichols Hills. Then another decent touch up right before Uptown opened two blocks north.

[Pete]

I meant competition in the immediate vicinity. Just based on the May & Britton location, they did a huge overhaul right before Whole Foods opened on the other side of Nichols Hills. Then another decent touch up right before Uptown opened two blocks north.

I was referring more to bchris's post about the general state of OKC grocery stores.

[bchris02]

http://newsok.com/uptown-market-in-d...lick=columnist

This article still states that there aren't enough people living downtown to support a grocery store. Is this still the case in 2018? The population of downtown was around 5000 or so in 2010. You would think it would be substantially larger now given how much housing has been built downtown since then.

My speculation is keeping the Native Roots brand has hurt them. Also, if they can hold on until October, being able to sell real beer/wine should give them quite a boost.

[Pete]

^

I'm sure that is all a subterfuge as a reaction to my story yesterday because they weren't quite ready to get the news out. I had spoken to the Uptown people months ago and they asked me to wait until January, then stopped returning my calls.

Why on earth would you file detailed design plans and have them approved if you weren't planning on moving forward? That type of approval only takes a few days.