Grove Corner Market needs a little help from their friends

If you’ve been to the Grove Corner Market recently, you may have received a flyer from a friendly employee addressed to the market’s “Friends.” The flyer begins: “We know you love us being here. We sure love being here and want to stay. And the truth is that at the current rate of sales we can’t make that happen. We need your help. If everyone just made one more—even small—visit a week, or spent an extra 5 or 10 dollars when you do come in, it would make a significant difference.” The flyer mentions several other ways to support the market, including meeting friends there for coffee or a beer or even a meal. “Use the space!,” the flyer urges, “if there’s anything you think would generate traffic, and want to help make it happen, we want to hear about it. We want nothing more than to serve as the community market. If you want that as well, please show up for us … and bring a friend!”

The Grove Corner Market is located at 771 Haywood Road, and can be reached by phone at 232-4354.

Mannie Dalton

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31 thoughts on “Grove Corner Market needs a little help from their friends

  1. ?

    What happened to that sense of supporting local businesses? You mean that people don’t stand by their so called tenets when it affects them in their wallets and can’t pay for the overpriced goods sold to them in order to fit in? By golly folks get to it before they close for good. Or maybe, just maybe some people are realizing the hard way that relying on unemployed arsty types that can’t scrape $10 together is suicide in business terms.

  2. Mysterylogger

    “Or maybe, just maybe some people are realizing the hard way that relying on unemployed arsty types that can’t scrape $10 together is suicide in business terms.”

    that is the rubber stamp Asheville Business Model . .

  3. journalism?

    Did the Mountain X get paid for this ad or can anyone get that kind of media attention. It seems to be under the news menu. Times are hard for most of us but I don’t expect people to buy stuff they don’t want from me, or for local media to offer PR space for me. What exactly about the Grove corner market deserves more attention than any other store?

  4. Piffy!

    [b]“if there’s anything you think would generate traffic, and want to help make it happen, we want to hear about it. We want nothing more than to serve as the community market. If you want that as well, please show up for us … and bring a friend!”[/b]

    Topless employees.

    And food items not twice as much as at the numerous grocery stores just minutes away, like ingles, greenlife, the co op, etc.

  5. ag

    We see a lot of this happening these days; that is, businesses not being able to make ends meet due to rising costs of utilities, rent, employees and lower traffic from locals. While this is very sad, I also don’t see enough being done by the business to generate buzz and traffic. Sitting and hoping doesn’t create cash flow. Be creative! Do a fundraiser, host an event, reach out to the community for more than just money! You don’t earn respect by begging and you sure won’t creating lasting loyalty among your clients/customers.

  6. travelah

    Why you and not another market? If somebody spends $20 at your place, thats $20 NOT spent somewhere else. So, again, why you?

  7. travelah

    I suppose I meant to say you better have a better marketing plan than this.

  8. travelah

    … and ta tas for pfffstkakst and his $5 PBR purchases on thursday nites won’t cut it.

  9. Piffy!

    dont underestimate the power of those ta tas, trav.

    But seriously, it would appear this place has been going through this for years. basically since it opened, i think.

    i’m pretty sure i recall a big push a year or so ago to have customers buy ‘shares’ or some such thing.

    does anyone other than condo dwellers shop there?

  10. houndgrrrl

    Well, maybe if they hadn’t have moved to their present location in the first place…. When they were located in the Grove Arcade downtown, my husband and I were in there all the time. Now that the market is on Haywood Road, we just don’t get to that side of town, as we live on the east end of the county.

  11. jamie

    a failed business plan is not newsworthy. can’t sell enough pbr and caviar to condo dwellers? i know. let’s try to sell pbr to stinky w.asheville hipsters. brilliant! good riddance i say.

  12. Doug Sahm

    The dumbest move this store made was moving out of the Grove Arcade. The CVS had just closed down which would have made Corner Market the only place to buy groceries downtown. I understand the rent was high there, I guess they couldn’t see the potential. Whoever decides to open a small grocery store downtown, at this point, will be rolling in it with the increase of residents.
    There just seems to be a lot of bad business decisions being made at the Grove Corner Market.

  13. David

    Houndgrrl, while you and your husband patronized the Grove downtown, apparently not many other people did or else why would they have moved?
    Also, I think the market has two primary problems: 1. Nobody seems to know about all their awesome prepared foods such as sandwiches from a real deli counter and the juice bar and I think its because they do not do enough advertising which in my opinion is “pound foolish”.
    2. As cruel as it sounds they seemed to be overstaffed, at least have your employees advertising or delivering sandwiches with all that extra time, maybe put the sandwich menu on the a-frame?

  14. It’s tough times for anyone trying to make it. They have a great prepared food section and I thought would do well as a “grab n go” type of place.

    Personally, I think their prices are good, but if you want to support them, find some items you need that fit your budget.

    On a larger scale, is the corner market concept dead?

  15. Jim Shura

    I looked into the rental rates at the Grove 6 years ago. They were 40% higher than what I was paying for a location with better foot traffic and the retail space in that building was alarmingly empty.

    There is a need for a downtown grocery store, but any indie is going to be forced to go high-end by the downtown rents.

    Soon it will be nothing but chain stores and retail rents will rise even more, homeowner tax assessments rising from the pressure. Then people will get fed up with the parking situation vs the mall that has the same stores, then the downtown dies again and we all eat at home all the time and buy everything we can online because there are only rotten chains out there competing with themselves.

    It’s garbage economics and we are getting buried in it.

  16. Co-op Shoop

    @Mr. Yuck: French Broad Food Co-op is a great downtown grocery store … if you haven’t visited in a while, it’s worth the trip. They oftentimes do evening beer/wine tastings and have an amazing (and cheap!) bulk foods room. Also, it’s community-owned!

  17. Rosanne

    Nasty, Jamie.

    In general I’d like to say that the reason you don’t see alot of small format stores – particularly grocery stores – is because it is so very difficult to make it work. We’ve always been ‘up to the challenge’, and I believe we’ve been quite creative and adaptable. And, we are still here. But it is like swimming upstream. We’ll see how the neighborhood feels about it. I’m getting the feedback that they want to make it happen. We don’t need THAT much… and it is winter by the way. With the help of this loyal community I’m confident we’ll be sailing by spring. I’d appreciate it if you all would simply wish us well! Rosanne, co-owner of the Market… soon to have a new neighborhood name by the way. (tba Feb.5th :-) How’s that for a plug?
    ps… you haven’t been paying attention if you think the Grove Corner Market doesn’t reach out to the community in ways other than begging.

  18. My experience in endeavors like GA is they get a few “cornerstone business” that get a sweetheart deal to sign up …then us this as a tease to get other tenants, and charge them out the wazoo.
    My past experience was in New Orleans as Jackson Brewery and Riverwalk, when they opened in the mid ’80s. In the beginning the endeavor looks great, but sooner or later reality sets in.

  19. Dawn Dalto

    David, Grove Corner Market does deliver. In fact…you can do your shopping and then they will deliver it to you. FREE! So if you are walking the dog or visiting the pub you can shop, go home, give a call and ta da groceries.

    To those that think it is taboo to ask your customers for help…rather than griping do something to help. They are a business in our neighborhood that is supporting the livelihood of quite a few folks. They want to be part of the community and help their customers, neighboring businesses and all those struggling artists too.

    Okay, maybe I can buy some stuff cheaper elsewhere, but there are plenty of things at Grove that are great values. Their wine selection is great. One of my favorites is only $6.99 – a red from Casa Solar.

    And yes, more advertising will help. Here lies the catch 22 for most businesses. You need to spend $$ on advertising and you need to meet your overhead too. Sometimes just covering the basics is all that happens…that’s why they are asking for their customer’s support remember.

    After reading the note at the register I did something to help. I can’t spend extra $$, but I do have experience in social media and marketing. I offered my help. I brainstormed with Rosanne and learned about the upcoming gala for their new name (February 6 2-6pm). We also came up with a lot of great events that will help promote the market and bring people in the door for a fun time that promotes locally produced products.

    If you want support a member of your neighborhood then follow Grove Corner Market on twitter @grovecorner or become a fan on Facebook at Grove Corner Market.

  20. Jim Shura

    @ Co-op Shoop

    I’m in the FB Co-op twice a week. Kinda short on meat, they are.

  21. Dawn Dalto

    Mr. Yuck…tell them what you want. They are willing to get what you need. We got some delicious shrimp a little while back.

  22. Piffy!

    [i]Kinda short on meat, they are. [/i]

    they glare at you when you buy meat, but they sell tobacco.

  23. contentpersephone

    hiya grove market-ers:
    a couple of links that might be of interest to you:

    1) http://www.the350project.net/home.html

    and also:

    2)http://ashevillegrown.wordpress.com/

    both these organizations do a great job of encouraging people to buy local, and explaining the “why” of the request, without coming across as “begging”.

    I have a local business, and use the signage provided from both the above organizations with pretty positive results. some people have honestly never really thought about it that much…they’re just trying to get by, like the rest of us.

    anyhow, just a thought.

  24. contentpersephone

    John. I don’t *think* that they do – not sure either way, but I am unclear as to how this pertains to the discussion about the Grove Corner Market we are having. Comparisons between the two would not seem useful at this point – one is a community co-op, one is a private business. one is downtown, one is (now) in west asheville, etc. etc.

  25. Jim Shura

    I’m 99% sure they do own that building. Keeps the costs down.

    My understanding is that co-op took a big hit when Greenlife opened.

  26. I was thrilled the day Greenlife opened and gave EF and FBC some serious competition. The needed it. I think all have improved due to the competition. Still I’d like ot se Corner Market thrive…as I love small Mom & Pop stores.

  27. I was shopping EarthFare (fromerly known as Dinner for the Earth /Rich) back in ’89 – ’90 when it was in that building on Broadway. Ya had to have been there. I had come from New Orleans where natural food stores were about 10 years ahead of small town Asheville. There was a basic lack of professionalism at the check out counter. Lots of chit chat amongst the cashiers. Not nearly the selection available now.

    I must say both EarthFare and Greenlife have responded well to each other’s competition. FBC, not so much. But then, I’m a believer in competition.

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