Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
This event will kick off at 1 p.m. in the Rotunda with local vendors, a live DJ, exclusive art tours hosted by The Contemporary Dayton, kid-friendly activities, photo experiences, giveaways and more.
A ribbon cutting ceremony for Beyond Grocery is at 2 p.m., followed by a line dancing party 4-5 p.m.
What is Beyond Grocery?
Beyond Grocery is located at 31 S. Main St. in the former space of Startup Grounds within The Hub Powered by PNC.
The Hub is a joint venture between The Entrepreneur’s Center and University of Dayton’s Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
Every semester, the University of Dayton has about 500 students taking classes at The Entrepreneur’s Center.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“We wanted to create a cashless operation and shopping experience for our students because we have a lot of students from bigger cities like Chicago specifically that come to the University of Dayton and they’re like I don’t even have anywhere to walk and get a brush,” Willoughby previously said. “If you can’t find it in the community, you have to create it.”
Beyond Grocery opened its doors for a soft opening in April.
“We only had about a week with the students, so it was really time to survey and figure out what is going to capture them when they come back in the fall,” Willoughby said. “One thing we learned from that was that we needed the meal plan because students are more likely and more amped to come and shop and support if they can use their meal plan.”
Students that have the Flyer Express meal plan can use it at Beyond Grocery.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
A variety of items
The grocery store has partnered with local farms to offer fresh produce and eggs.
Other items offered include bakery items, beverages, canned goods, dairy products, desserts such as banana pudding, frozen food, grab-and-go items like pre-packaged salads, ramen, snacks and more.
Beyond Grocery has a coffee bar with lattes, cappuccinos, cold brew and more.
They also carry household essentials, personal care and beauty products, office supplies and health/wellness items at the store.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Not all items are visible to the customer. Those that visit the store should scan a QR code for the full menu.
Beyond Grocery is a community based operation. They want to partner with local entrepreneurs to sell their products.
Filling a gap in downtown Dayton.
“I would say 70% of our sales are people who come to the front desk,” Willoughby said. “We’re not like we thought we would be. We’re not getting the response of order online, pick-up in store as much as we would like right now, but I do believe that as people get more familiar with the space, that it will increase.”
They hope Flyer Fest will be an opportunity for more students to visit the space.
“If you’re not an entrepreneurship student or art student, you’re not ever going to come down here,“ Willoughby said. ”We’re just trying to introduce them to the different things that are available to them outside of The Entrepreneur’s Center.”
Willoughby is a Dayton native who graduated in 2013 from David H. Pointz Career Technology Center before attending the University of Dayton. She is now the CEO of The Willoughby Firm and a full contact fighting World medalist.
She wanted to create Beyond Grocery because “downtown is a food desert,” and “a lot of people want good, local, fresh products without having to go to a big store.”
“I saw a need for convenience in grocery downtown, and so I decided to fill that gap,” Willoughby said.
What’s next?
Beyond Grocery is planning to host events to create an environment where people not only want to come downtown, but see Beyond Grocery as a quick stop on their way home or to their next destination.
The grocery store offers holistic wellness powders, so they are planning to host education classes about these products.
Beyond Grocery is planning to incorporate more technology into the space such as a kiosk for ordering and locker system to pick-up goods.
“Right now we’re café style, but obviously big picture, five-year plan is to have our own grocery store downtown,” Willoughby said.
MORE DETAILS
Beyond Grocery is open 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and 6-10 p.m. Saturday.
The grocery store is available on DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats.
About the Author
