Last updated on July 14th, 2017 at 10:27 am
Natural Grocers is relocating its downtown Denver store to the River North (RiNo) neighborhood, an area referred to as a food desert.
Two years ago, a Change.org petition garnered 1,231 supporters who banded together to demand a health-focused grocery retailer open in Northeast Denver. Natural Grocers says it topped the list as a grocer of choice for petitioners who wanted a retailer that was not only locally owned, but also provided natural and organic food offerings, local produce and brands, affordable pricing and a commitment to local job creation.
The new store at 3757 North Brighton Boulevard will open July 27.
“Most of Northeast Denver, including RiNo, is a food dessert. There simply aren’t enough quality food options within walking distance to the community,” said Denver City Council President Albus Brooks. “What makes this even more valuable is that Natural Grocers is a Colorado company that educates the community about health and sustainability.”
Natural Grocers says that in an era when behemoths like Walmart, Kroger and Whole Foods have “systematized the grocery business into a scalable machine,” family-run chains such as Natural Grocers still focus heavily on providing special value to those communities that need them most.
“’Dedication to the community’ can be found on the wall of every Natural Grocers store, along with the company’s four other founding principles put in place by my mother, Margaret Isely,” said EVP Heather Isely. “We still live by those five founding principles and make our decisions knowing that those commitments are the reason our customers are so loyal to the Natural Grocers brand.”
