Some people thought opening a new grocery store in West Dayton would be doomed to failure, said John Patterson, chief asset officer for Homefull, which owns and operates the market. He said GG’s is happy to prove the naysayers wrong.
Gettysburg Grocery, often called “GG’s” for short, has won people over by having the same kind of friendly environment as the mom-and-pop shops of years long gone where customers and employees get to know each other and form relationships, which helps turn the boring chore of grocery shopping into a fun event, said Patterson.
“Homefull’s strength has been to address a community need and problem effectively,” he said. “I think the biggest draw is we’re different.”
GG’s unofficially opened its doors a year ago, on Jan. 13, and then held an official grand opening about a month later. Homefull will celebrate GG’s one-year anniversary on Saturday, Feb. 7, with a variety of activities.
GG’s is located at 811 S. Gettysburg Ave. in the Fairlane neighborhood, which is home to about 1,300 residents. The market was built on the former Carlson elementary school site, just south of U.S. 35.
GG’s sells about 10,000 different types of products, which are spread across seven aisles of shelves, plus multiple rows of refrigerators and freezers and the produce, dairy and deli sections.
The deli is a major draw, Patterson said, and GG’s has special deals and themed meals throughout the week, including “potato bar Monday,” “taco Tuesday,” “wing Wednesday,” “Asian Thursday” and the very popular “Soul Food Sunday,” where people can buy premade dinners featuring oxtail, rib, meatloaf, fried catfish, or liver and onion.
GG’s — which has about 14,000 square feet of market space, larger than a traditional Trader Joe’s store — also hosts tastings, nutritional fairs and educational and community events.
GG’s serves about 300 customers every day, and Patterson said ideally the store would like to get that to about 500 daily customers in the near future. Homefull would like to attract more foot traffic and see existing customers increase their spending.
Homefull hopes GG’s will be able to break-even by the end of its third year in operation. Because GG’s is operated by a nonprofit, the store doesn’t have to worry about shareholders and Homefull can provide subsidies to keep prices affordable, Patterson said.
“I can share we exceeded projections for year one,” Patterson said.
About 35% of GG’s revenue comes from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which was formerly called the food stamp program. The Fairlane neighborhood and other surrounding neighborhoods have fairly high poverty rates, and the area was considered a food desert before GG’s opened its doors.
Around 80% of GG’s customers probably live within about three miles of the store, and many shoppers are seniors, including some who are on fixed incomes, Patterson said. Other customers include people who work downtown or nearby.
John Robinson, 69, has worked at the Community Correctional Institution on South Gettysburg Ave for about 15 years. Until GG’s opened, Robinson spent most of his lunch break driving to and from a Kroger store that was a 20-minute drive each way.
“This is less than a five-minute drive,” he said. “The prices are decent, the food is good and the people are great.”
“I couldn’t wait for them to open,” said Robinson, who visits GG’s virtually every day of the work week, often to grab a salad or other basic goods. “I appreciate coming in here and shooting the breeze with them.”
Upon hearing this, a clerk at the cashier station yelled out, “He shoots a lot of breeze too,” before he broke into laughter.
Patterson said the closest full-service grocery store is a few miles away —which might as well be 500 miles away for people who do not have their own cars or reliable transportation. Twice a week, Homefull operates a free shuttle that takes seniors to and from the store.
GG’s occupies about 30% of the 48,000-square-foot facility on South Gettysburg Avenue. The facility also is home to Ziks Family Pharmacy, Kettering Health offices and soon a new food hub. The overall investment in the project was about $20 million.
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