DANIELLE GARCIA
As Denton continues to grow and thrive with each passing year, various needs pop up around town. UNT grad Jacob Moses recently saw something that the Denton community was strangely still in need of: a neighborhood grocery store downtown. With a loan, a gift from his parents, and his 401K, the 25 year-old opened Blue Bag Grocery earlier this month on S. Locust. Read on to find out more about Moses' path to opening his store and why Blue Bag should be your next grocery stop after grabbing coffee at Shift.
"A grocery store is welcoming, it serves everyone equally," Moses said. Its a part of "having a strong, livable neighborhood." Of course, downtown Denton has had a couple of miniature grocers open and close quickly through the years. Moses hopes that Blue Bag will be the one that sticks around long-term.
Moses' pursuit is simple - he wants to do what he can to help his neighbors. A pedestrian-friendly urban grocer allows neighbors to interact with their community as opposed to just driving through it. He wants to see potential future partners meet in his store as opposed to an app like Tinder, or experience a spontaneous event just by walking, Moses says.
While initially the grocer wanted to provide a mix of premium food brands along with more generic, he has seen a preference from the neighbors in the premium products and plans to shift completely to that niche. However locals seems to already dig it.
"I love it, I'm a big fan... it's a well-designed place that has cool items," Roy Onyebetor, a Dentonite said as he purchased a bag of craft beers.
Currently one can walk in and find Moses generally perched on his stool behind the counter always sure to greet each costumer warmly and graciously. One can also find some typical corner store items along with craft beers under 2 or 3 dollars, unique array of wines under 10 dollars as well as basic food staples.
While they are not as inexpensive as Kroger, Moses, said, Blue Bag won't break your wallet and are in fact mostly cheaper than CVS.
No need to drive a ways to Kroger, piling 20 bags of groceries into the car, when you one can simply walk over and fill up a blue bag (hence the name) with about 20 or 25 items just enough for a couple of days needs, the entreprenuer said.
With Moses' passion for Denton and its citizens, locals now not only have a place to make quick run for wine or frozen pizza, but for a friendly conversation as well.
"Jacob really, really loves the city he lives in and the people in it," Onyebetor said.
Or as Moses likes to say, he seeks to "give daps to the kinfolk."
Blue Bag Grocery is located at 503 S. Locust St. in Denton, TX (same shopping center as Shift under the Adagio building). They are open Monday through Sunday from 8am - 9pm. You can follow them on Facebook here.
