CINCINNATI — A locally-owned grocery store opened its doors in Walnut Hills. It's new, it's fresh and owners are hoping it's a solution years in the making.
ETC Produce occupies the first floor of a newer mixed-use development on East McMillian Street. It's the same spot where Kroger once stood, serving customers for decades before shutting its doors in 2017.
When Kroger moved out of the neighborhood and a mile away to Corryville, Walnut Hills was left without direct access to a grocery store. That created a food desert in the community that has only recently seen a surge of gentrification.
ETC co-owner Toncia Chavez said opening shop at the former Kroger site was a dream come true for her and her husband Estevan, who is a Purcell Marian graduate. It's a homecoming of sorts for the couple, while also a chance to help with food insecurity.
"We are trying to give the community everything they want and desire, making sure that we are sticking to our mission of connecting communities through food and making sure that all of our farmers, artisans, are making money and also keeping money in the community," Chavez said.
While this is their first brick-and-mortar endeavor, the husband and wife duo know their way around a farm-to-table business.
They already run the ETC Produce & Provisions stand at Findlay Market. All of the offerings at that location are either local, artisan or organic goods sourced from Tri-State area farms.
Many of those products can be found on the shelves at the couple's Walnut Hills store including milk and eggs, meat and poultry, fresh produce, dry goods and condiments.
"Really, ETC is about connecting the community through food," Chavez said. "We have these wonderful farmers and these awesome customers, but really, there's a disconnect between the two and so it's finding that connection — instead of having to drive out 45 minutes to this farm, 30 minutes to this farmers market — putting them all in one location for you and making it really easy and fun to shop."
Chavez said she and her husband have employed 16 workers to help man the Walnut Hills location. Some of them got to work Thursday making the store's first batches of prepared meals including pasta salad, chicken salad and other deli options.
"Just your array of things you'd see in your big box store but with better-quality ingredients," Chavez said.
But local often means pricey. Chavez said she and her husband know some of their goods will be too expensive for some shoppers.
The median annual income in Walnut Hills is around $50,000. For those living on a fixed income, ETC's $11.99 tomato sauce sourced from Cleveland won't be what they're reaching for. Chavez said that's OK because if shoppers look one shelf lower, there's a $3.99 Ragu meat sauce too.
"Making sure we're hitting both of those price points," she said. "Making sure we're stretching their dollar as much as we can with the stewed tomatoes, all the canned goods, all the value-added products but then you know we throw a little truffle oil in there, we throw in some french butter. So you get to choose what you want to spend your money on: the fancy cheese or the cheaper crackers."
ETC Produce accepts nutritional assistance vouchers for residents in need. Chavez said her Findlay Market farm stand already accepts EBT and she's waiting for approval to establish the brick-and-mortar as a vendor too.
The market is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.
