Urban Grocery To Close
May 5th, 2012The Urban Grocery and Wine Bar, run by the non-profit Community Food Connections (CFC), will be closing its doors to the public at the close of business May 12th at 5 pm.
The outdoor Phoenix Public Market will continue to run every Wednesday (4-8 pm), Saturday (8 am-12 pm) and Food Truck Fridays for lunch. Royal Coffee will also remain open and continue to operate during their normal hours.
Following is a statement from Dan Klocke, Board President, Community Food Connections:
“For the last 2.5 years, the Urban Grocery has been the only grocery store in downtown which also supports many small, diverse and local businesses. The outdoor market will continue that mission of supporting small farmers and businesses while creating a great community gathering place for the 100,000 people that came during the last year. I also want to personally thank our landlord and the City of Phoenix. Both have gone above and beyond in their support of this community project.”
“Additionally, Cindy Gentry has resigned as executive director of Community Food Connections. In my entire career I have honestly never met anyone so dedicated to the community and the mission of an organization. Her contribution to this community and downtown in particular has been amazing and she will be sorely missed. In the meantime the board of directors will continue the outdoor market with help from people already involved in running it on a weekly basis. Like any business there are risks with opening your doors and sometimes it just does not work out. It can be particularly difficult when it is such a community based business. However, I want everyone to keep the faith because the outdoor market is doing great.”
“Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years and please come visit us at the Phoenix Public Market every Wednesday and Saturday.”
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This would be a geat lost for downtown…why closing so soon?
Arg! This is horrible news.
Wow, really great comments. Um but fyi, businesses go out of business when they dont make money. If it was so great for downtown then u should have given them more of ur business/money…
So….what happened? Why not include that in the release?
The store simply wasn’t making enough money to cover costs. That’s all.
Shame. Figured that was it.
Can’t run a successful biz without plenty of paying customers, unfortunately. Loved your product!
So do you support or endorse a community effort to try to save the market? Is the market savable?Please respond, so people don’t waste their time and resources on something that is out of reach.
When is the lease up on the building? The concern being that we lose the Outdoor Market too when that happens?
This is a major blow to the local community.
Sorry to hear the bad news. Thank you for your efforts.
Since the building is leased, will the Outdoor Market also close when the lease is up?
This is so sad. I just can’t believe this. It’s pretty devastating to an ASU student who could walk there and get fresh, local produce. This is a very very harsh blow to the community. You will be sorely missed.
To Cindy,
Thanks for all of your hard work and support. I appreciate your kindness and compassion. The market won’t be the same without you!
Where will we be able to purchase the flats of wheatgrass ?
It will be available at the open air markets on Saturdays which will continue to take place from 8a to noon.
Wow. Just got back from europe to hear this terrible news. Is this beyond salvagable? Can we start a community effort to save this wonderful downtown institution? How much would need to be raised?
Cindy,
Thank you so much for your years of service! Olivia and I understand and will miss you. We will be there singing on Saturday. I am sure the market will survive, but it will not be the same without you. Good luck in all that you do.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Stagner, Manager for Olivia Cannon
It’s dismaying that the Urban Grocery couldn’t break even, I thought the statement made that pretty clear. No ‘community effort’ can save a failing business, more people needed to shop there in the first place, that’s all.
Much gratitude to the creators of the Urban Grocery, thanks for giving it your all. Your unique presence will be missed by many.