Jody’s Market, a small grocery store in downtown Lawrence, is set to open in July – Lawrence Times

Downtown Lawrence didn’t have a grocery store until recently, but Liana Slagle wants to fill that gap: She plans to open a small, pedestrian-friendly grocery store called Jody’s Market the first week of July.

Located at 10 E. Ninth St., Suite C, Jody’s Market offers essentials such as produce, flour, eggs, coffee and grab-and-go meals.

Each category will carry only a few product types, with an emphasis on balancing affordable options with local and specialty brands. This low-volume buying model has some unexpected benefits:

“Jody’s Market is very environmentally friendly,” Slagle said, “especially compared to larger grocery stores that simply throw out items when they’re nearing their expiration date. We focus on buying less and donating or eating what’s left unsold.”

When she and her husband, Chad Slagle, lived in a big city, they discovered the convenience of bodegas, small markets where people could get essentials without leaving their neighborhood. This mindset led Slagle to make intentional choices about how she stocks her products.

“We thought about and talked to people who live in apartments downtown, people in the service industry walking by, arts center workers on their lunch break,” Slagle said. “What do they need to buy?”

Independent grocers have deeper roots in the communities where they operate and are better able to meet the needs of their customers. This allows them to thrive in a tough environment dominated by large chains. According to the National Grocers Association, independent grocers account for 33% of all grocery sales, generating more than $250 billion annually and providing jobs to more than 1.1 million Americans. And according to Green America, independent grocers tend to reinvest more of their profits back into their local economies.

To maximize the customer base they can serve, Slagle is focused on making Jodie’s Market accessible to everyone — not just in terms of price and location, but meeting people where they are, including disabilities and dietary restrictions.

“I try to understand each customer,” she says, “by walking them through the store to make sure they can get around easily with a walker or wheelchair. I focus on a variety of foods for people with allergies and for vegetarians and vegans.”

To further its commitment to the community, Slagle sources as many products as possible from local brands, with brands such as Repetition Coffee, Wild Alive Ferments and Stone & Sparrow Farm and Mill lining the shelves at Jody’s Market.

“It feels so great to support these small, family-run businesses,” she says. “One of the orders I received today came with a handwritten note, which felt really special.”

Slagle made one exception to not carrying local brands: brands that are already located downtown.

“We’re not going to sell Wheatfield bread because it’s a block away,” Slagle said, “and we want to share the benefits with other businesses downtown. We want to bring traffic to other stores, restaurants and bars.”

When it comes to sharing love, one person is especially important to Slagle: his mother, Jodie, who passed away suddenly three years ago.

“I was the first in my family to have a business and go to school. I think I came from poverty. I grew up in a single-wide trailer. My mom was always a tough person. No matter what, she kept working hard and was a happy, bubbly person,” Slagle said.

“My mother was a pillar of support for our entire family, so this is a tribute to get her name out there and hopefully keep that legacy alive.”

Follow Jody’s Market on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates, and for more information, visit jodysmarket.com

Jordan Winter (she/her) is a Lawrence Times contributor and graduated from the University of Kansas in 2019 with degrees in journalism and political science.

See her work at jrdnwntr.com To see more of her work for The Times, click here

Latest Lawrence news:

more …