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The $7 million plan, which already has city approval, calls for a 10,000-square-foot store on the first floor of the formerly industrial building. 'If we're successful in Troy, and I think we will be, this is going to change a lot.'īette is establishing a separate nonprofit for the Troy store, has been working to attract grants and government interest, and is readying a fundraising campaign to renovate and outfit the building for a grocery. 'I can't think of a better thing you can do for a community than put one of these stores in,' he said. It's a population that happens to look like downtown Troy, which is among the reasons that developer and First Columbia head Kevin Bette is so eager to bring Bargain Grocery to one of the buildings he owns in the fast-changing Hedley District.

The result is customer mix unusual in its diversity, consisting of rich and poor alike. But since the store acts as the chief fundraiser for the broader charity, all are encouraged to shop there. If the store can also help eliminate food waste and support local farmers, all the better.īargain Grocery has at times battled the misconception that it is only for the poor. Nearly 40 percent of Bargain Grocery customers pay with the electronic benefit cards, and the central mission, Servello said, will always be to treat the city's significant population of needy residents with dignity. The prices, meanwhile, are remarkably low - about a third of what you'd expect to pay in a typical supermarket, even though many of brand names on display are high-end. The store is about the size of a Trader Joe's and in many way the product mix is similar. Servello built the organization and its networks gradually, establishing relationships with farmers, familiar large retailers and companies such as Chobani, Four years ago, Bargain Grocery moved to a newly built store in a neighborhood east of downtown Utica, allowing for a dramatic increase in sales and popularity.

#Kennebec journal and morning sentinel free#

He soon realized that the best path involved bypassing the usual middle-men to focus instead on the vast quantities of food that are routinely thrown away, often for superficial reasons.īut here's what really makes the operation remarkable: Bargain Grocery's profits fund a broader charity that annually distributes $25 million worth of food, household items, school supplies and other items to Utica's poor, free of charge.

Servello, a pastor, founded Bargain Grocery two decades ago aiming to serve the poor in Utica neighborhoods without grocery options. 'Fresh produce is central to what we do here,' said Michael Servello, the store's founder, standing next to blueberries priced at $1.49 a pint as he swept his arm sweeping his arm toward bins of tomatoes, peppers, onions, zucchinis and, well, just about every fruit and veggie you'd expect at a supermarket. But that doesn't mean the food isn't of a high quality or that the store doesn't sell fresh food and vegetables. Much of the food it sells would be otherwise be headed to a landfill. It's a store like no other I've seen, a food retailer with a purpose.Įssentially, it's a salvage store, a supermarket version of, say, Ollie's Bargain Outlet. The store planned for a building at 558 River St., just north of the Collar City Bridge, would be a second location for a grocery that's operating in Utica and is backed by the non-profit Compassion Coalition.