What started with a homemade lip balm less than a year ago will turn into a new, sustainable grocery store on Broad Street this September.
Alexia Gonzalez, 26, started The Earth Pantry last fall after making her own lip balms and now plans to open a small grocery store at 1026 Broad St. in the old Sew Co. space.
“I did some pop-ups last October, and they went very well,” she said. “Then in March, I was walking downtown and saw this space, and it felt right.”
Gonzalez said she’s excited to bring grocery items downtown, most of which lies in a food desert.
“When people hear that I’m taking over the space, they say, ‘I hope it’s a grocery store!'” she said.
The store is sustainable because customers bring in their own containers, like glass jars, and only pay for the amount of food they need. The glass jar is weighed before and after filling it up so customers can pay by weight.
The main products will be non-perishable foods, such as rice, beans, pasta, seasonings and snacks, but it will also have her homemade products, including toothpaste, glass cleaner, laundry detergent and bath bombs.
“Chemicals are so bad for you,” Gonzalez said. “God gave us everything we need. It’s just learning how to put it all together.”
Since she will be buying in bulk, Gonzalez expects prices to be equal to or less than standard grocery store prices. As for meat, she plans to invite local farmers for pop-ups on certain days.
She plans to close on Sundays and Tuesdays and will use Tuesdays to fulfill local deliveries to customers.
Gonzales said she always knew she wanted to do something to help save the oceans. She created her own major at Kennesaw State University centered around oceanography, marketing and leadership. She previously managed a hotel in Costa Rica for three months during the pandemic, she said.
“It’s a misconception that you have to live by the ocean to help save the ocean,” she said. “All of our water is interconnected. The Savannah River flows into the ocean. You can almost have a greater impact inland. We can’t be perfect, but we can be aware.”
Gonzalez knows this type of store seems like something you’d expect to see in California, rather than in Augusta, where a Whole Foods on Washington Road lasted less than two years before closing in 2017.
“Those who are between the ages of roughly 45 and 60 seem to have some doubts about the store because of the health food stores that have closed in Augusta,” she said. “But those who are older think it’s a good idea because it’s the type of store they grew up with and makes them nostalgic. And those who are younger think it’s a good idea because they are more into this type of stuff.”
For the unbelievers, Gonzalez said she hopes once they see the store, they will change their minds.
The previous tenant, SewCo, had recently renovated the space so Gonzalez said she won’t have to do much. She plans to turn one of the changing rooms into a free library and another into an ocean-themed kids’ play area so parents can shop in peace.
Gonzalez said she will be the sole employee to start but hopes to hire someone else in four to six months.
“My parents are investing in it so I’m very lucky with that,” she said. “So it will be like a family thing, but I’m taking charge.”
Her mom owns the dance school All Stars Performing Arts Academy in Sugar Hill, north of Atlanta.
Earlier this year Gonzalez met Jennifer Tinsley, the owner of another clean ingredient business downtown, Field Botanicals, a skincare and beauty store on Twelfth Street.
“She said it’s hard, but she said being on the main street downtown will help,” Gonzalez said.
