Staff Photo Ashleigh Price
Natural Grocers, Fayetteville’s newest organic grocery store, is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. They are located in OfficeMax’s old location at 4116 N. College Ave.
For the first time in Fayetteville’s history, there will be more than just one option for consumers of local and organic groceries.
Until this week, the only grocery store to sell exclusively local and organic products was Ozark Natural Foods, which has been serving the community for forty years (and operating from its current location since November of 2000).
Natural Grocers by Vitamin College, opened its doors Sunday, March 8, for a soft-opening and Tuesday, March 10, for their grand opening.
A die-hard ONF shopper myself, I thought no store could live up to the standards I was used to, but arriving in Natural Grocers, I was pleasantly surprised.
The staff was friendly, samples were abundant, selection was varied, the produce section was 100% organic, and the prices were low.
Natural Grocers prides itself in offering “EDAPs,” or Every Day Affordable Prices, deals that aren’t weekly or monthly offerings, but year-round prices near wholesale purchase price.
Along with EDAPs, Natural Grocers also offers “Health Hotlines,” month-long specials that are consistent with each of their stores nation-wide.
Additional specials will be offered this month as “opening deals,” and are featured at the head of each aisle.
The grand opening of the Fayetteville location marks store number 95 for Natural Grocers.
The company got its start in Golden, Colo., in 1955 via door-to-door sales. Colorado alone now has 55 full-service locations.
While the stores each share the mission that believes “every person can improve their own health and well-being when they have access to quality food, stay informed about nutrition, and learn to trust their own experience,” the layouts vary from store to store. Additionally, each front offers local-specific options.
The Fayetteville location offers local produce and products from companies such as Berry Natural, Stonemill Breads, and My Brother’s Salsa, all labeled with Arkansas flag logos next to their prices.
“We love local business participation,” says Sundi Tyler, one of the store’s managers, and they are constantly looking for more local vendors to sell in their stores. Those interested in selling can submit their local product for review at www.naturalgrocers.com/products/submit-product.
Natural grocers pride themselves on their 100 percent USDA certified organic produce section.
Natural Grocers’ traveling nutritional health coach, Caroline Cheong, said that Natural Grocers does the tedious “label reading” for you. They don’t carry items that contain artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, bleached flours, trans fats, MSG, rGBH, or much more.
They only sell meat that has been raised without synthetic hormones or antibiotic treatments to insure optimal gut-health for their consumers.
All of their products undergo extensive testing before landing on the shelves. Cheong elaborated that this insures that everything Natural Grocers carries abides by specific health conscious standards.
The grocery store also offers nutrition and cooking seminars, along with one-on-one health consultations, all free to the public.
Natural Grocer representatives, book authors, and certified nutritionists present, but they also encourage anyone interested in discussing healthy food choices or strategies to apply to host a free event. Information can be found at www.naturalgrocers.com/nutrition/interested-speaking.
To keep prices low, Natural Grocers does not have a deli section or hand out grocery bags. Patrons are expected to bring their own totes.
If you forget your reusable bag, you can purchase a Natural Grocers bag for $1 or use a complimentary cardboard box. However, each time you do bring your own bag Natural Grocers donates five cents to the Fayetteville Food Bank.
Natural Grocers has a bulk section that is both refrigerated (mostly nuts and dried fruits, to ensure freshness) and non-refrigerated. Items are pre-packaged and weighed by employees to ensure cleanliness.
Their supplements section is massive, including “more supplements than anywhere else in the area, at very affordable prices,” said Tyler. It includes a women’s and men’s health section, an ayurvedic and holistic health section, and much more.
The beautifully displayed Health and Beauty department of the store features a huge selection of products, including care for hair and skin, a huge range of toothpaste options, and “target products that help promote wellness for a variety of areas,” says Tyler, manager of the Health and Beauty section of the Fayetteville store.
“We are excited to become the newest ‘neighbor’ in a community such as Fayetteville, which is very food and health oriented,” said Kemper Isely, co-president of Natural Grocers.
Those interested in shopping at Natural Grocers can visit their new Fayetteville store-front Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. They are located in OfficeMax’s old location at 4116 N. College Ave. More information about seminars and community events can be found on their website at www.naturalgrocers.com/store-locations/fayetteville/AR/events.
