All-In-Grocers Making Progress

Fifteen years ago, sitting at a Walnut Neighborhood Association meeting, Laura Hoy remembers hearing residents list their dreams for the neighborhood.  These dreams included having a hardware store and a grocery store present within the neighborhood’s physical boundaries.  Over the years, neighbors repeatedly listed those two businesses as desired entities for this North End neighborhood. Today, both of those wish list businesses are a reality for the Walnut Neighborhood.

In 2018, Spellers True Value Hardware opened on E. 4th St., enabling North End residents to support a local Black-owned business, as well as having the convenience of hardware stock nearby without having to travel across the city to a big box store.

Now, in upcoming 2023, the Walnut Neighborhood prepares to celebrate and shop at the highly anticipated and long-awaited All in Grocers Grocery Store being built in the Walnut Neighborhood.  Even more, this store is a vision and commitment of local Black developer, Rodney Anderson, who is giving back to the community where he grew up.  “I am very excited for the opening of All in Grocers Development,” says Anderson.  “It will be a beacon of light for an entire city.  The opening date is anticipated to be October 31, 2023.”

While there were many challenges for Anderson in the process, he continued forward with faith in God and a vision he knew was to come to pass.  In Rodney’s words, “The person who runs toward the rubble first and breaks down walls always gets the brunt of the debris.  MAKING HISTORY is not easy but it’s definitely worth it.”
Access to affordable and nutritious food is often limited in lower-income neighborhoods across the United States.  Instead, convenience stores and pharmacies in depressed neighborhoods tend to offer higher-priced, processed foods laden with fat and sugar.  Access to fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and a variety of foods to satisfy the preferences of a multi-ethnic community is certainly a huge asset to a community’s health and wellbeing.  Besides that, a local grocery store will also offer employment opportunities and the profits will stay in and benefit the local community.

The Walnut Neighborhood is ALL IN for All in Grocers Grocery Store!