Natural Grocers Opens Second Arizona Store in Prescott

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is opening the second of three stores in Arizona today in Prescott. A new store in Flagstaff opened last week and a store in Sedona is planned for September. Natural Grocers is a regional grocery chain that offers only natural, organic and affordably-priced products, which will give all Prescott residents a broad selection of healthful, fresh, organic and natural food and products.

“Despite Prescott being a smaller city in Arizona, we knew it was one of the best locations for Natural Grocers because the residents are committed to living healthy, active lifestyles,” said Kemper Isely, Natural Grocers co-president. “Our store makes buying natural and organic foods an nutritional supplements affordable. We believe that the people of Prescott will be able to buy all of their groceries at our store without breaking their budget.”

As part of its core values, Colorado-based Natural Grocers offers only USDA certified organic produce and all natural meats from animals naturally raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones. In addition, the grocery chain has an extensive supplement and body care department, a large selection of gluten-free products and other special dietary need products. The store also offers an extensive bulk department—including serve-yourself bulk peanut butter, almond butter and cashew butter—as well as a selection of organic and natural groceries free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and hydrogenated oils.

For more than 55 years, the Isely family has managed Natural Grocers. Part of their commitment to maintain a true natural foods store is to avoid selling any products that contain artificial ingredients such as sweeteners, flavors, preservatives, hydrogenated oils or produce grown with synthetic pesticides. Today the awareness of the benefits of eating natural foods is higher than ever and continues to grow, helping Natural Grocers expand to 57 stores in 12 states, according to the company.

Nutritional coaching

In addition to only offering foods that meet the Isely family’s high standards for quality and health, Natural Grocers offers free nutritional coaching—from individualized sessions, to meal planning, to general questions about nutrition and health. Every Natural Grocers has a credentialed Nutritional Health Coach in-house and all of the stores’ staff is trained to help shoppers find products and resources to support optimal health. The company also offers free seminars and speakers of interest to the community (schedule available in the store and online at http://www.naturalgrocers.com/nutrition/nutrition-seminars).

Eco-friendly concept

True to the Natural Grocers philosophy, the new store was retrofitted for use at 470 Gail Gardner Way. It was designed with a variety of energy-efficient features including motion light sensors, 100 percent post-consumer content tiles, polished concrete flooring and commercial-grade LED lights.

In addition, Natural Grocers is 100 percent shopping bag free (no paper, no plastic). In the event a customer forgets to bring their reusable bags, Natural Grocers offers free recycled boxes and, of course, it sells inexpensive reusable shopping bags as well.

Local sourcing, local community

Natural Grocers is dedicated to its local communities, stocking local products whenever possible. Natural Grocers is always looking for new local products and is willing to consider any new local products, which can be reviewed by completing a product submission application here.

In addition, the Prescott store has a community room where residents can come and get a free cup of coffee, tea and free Wi-Fi access. There also is a demo kitchen for presentations and available meeting space.

Opening week

Natural Grocers’ week long opening celebration for Prescott will take place through Aug. 19. Shoppers can enjoy tasty treats, free samples and giveaways.