For Jason Freeman, getting groceries used to mean leaving his neighborhood. That's because there was no grocery store in the area.
Freeman, president of the South Titusville Neighborhood Association in Birmingham, said he drove to Fairfield to shop. After that store closed, he started ordering groceries online and picking them up from Aldi.
Others in the neighborhood traveled to Walmart along Lakeshore Parkway several miles away. Some, he said, turned to places such as Family Dollar.
Now, the area has a new store to call its own — Carver Jones Market on Dennison Avenue.
“The neighborhood is very excited,” Freeman said. “The store fills a gap.”
The market is opening in the former Save-A-Lot location, which closed about four years ago. Titusville has been considered a food desert since then. Food desserts are areas where residents have little or no access to affordable, fresh, nutritious food.
Getting the store ready
While Carver Jones held a soft opening earlier this month,
workers are putting the finishing touches on the market in preparation for a grand opening Saturday
Produce coolers hum near the entrance as music plays over the store’s public address system. Staff stock shelves and check prices.
Adrian Solomon, the store’s assistant manager, said organizing a new grocery store is a major undertaking. She wants to store to "make sense."
"What I mean by that is making sure that we've got all the potato chips in the same place on the same aisle," Solomon said. “We’re working. We’re a work in progress.”
The effort is part of a larger goal for Carver Jones.
“The vision was to make available to this community what they hadn’t seen for a number of years now,” Solomon said.
Won't you be my neighbor?
Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman's family has lived near the store's site since the 1970s, and she describes herself as a fifth-generation Titusville resident.
Smitherman has already shopped at the new market.
“It’s been a really great grocery store experience,” she said. “It’s really nice being able to add another grocery store in the middle of a food desert.”
The project did receive public support. The City Council approved an $850,000 incentive package in December. The package includes $600,000 in upfront funding to help with renovations and $250,000 in future tax abatements.
Carver Jones could eventually offer more than groceries.
Plans include a coffee shop, pharmacy and deli. The developers also plan to create workforce development opportunities for students.
Smitherman said the developers have also expressed an interest in working with local farmers to source produce and keep more of the economic activity in the community.
Can the store stick around?
Freeman said the return of a grocery store is welcomed, but he remembers what happened with Save-A-Lot.
He said one of the biggest complaints he heard about the previous store involved poor quality food and the condition of the building.
His early impression of Carver Jones is different.
The market is run by a nonprofit and Freeman said he was familiar with its previous location in Fairfield, which has since closed. He remembered it as a well-maintained store with fresh produce and consistent inventory. He said maintaining those qualities will be important to keeping customers coming back.
“I think that would be something that will help sustain them over a while,” Freeman said.
Some of the initial customers WBHM spoke with complained of high prices. Freeman said supporting the store matters, even when its prices are not always the lowest option. Shopping locally, he said, can help ensure the store remains a resource for the neighborhood.
