Photograph by Katherine Bish
I must admit, I couldn't envision how to transform a chopped-up, multimillion-dollar gourmet restaurant into a gourmet grocery store. But when former Straub's general manager Paul Poe toured the reincarnated-for-a-time Busch's Grove, the vision came to him immediately. Each room's former décor would support the products he would put there: The meat department would obviously go in the masculine Grove Room, the floral area would incorporate the western-facing windows, and so on. In October, Poe took St. Louis Magazine on a hard-hat tour of what was to become the gracious, spacious (and now open) Market at Busch's Grove. We never asked him whether he'd make us one of Busch's nostalgic relish trays.
There are many examples of local groceries being "the family business." True in your case? No. I had previously sold consumer packaged goods to grocers ... and of course, I worked at Schnucks in high school and college, like so many other people did.
How did you hook up with Straub's? Years ago, I had been thinking about opening my own grocery store, and I approached Straub's to see how it was done. I ended up working there 13 years, taking them from $10 million to $33 million [in annual revenue] in the process.
Is there demand for another specialty grocer? That segment has grown at a 25 percent rate in the last five years. I know customers want a small, convenient setting that's reasonably priced with convenient parking. Oh, and throw in some good service while you're at it.
Now much recycling did you do? We salvaged and reused as much as we could ... we turned cabin doors into display tables, the catering trays are now made on what was the main bar.
Do you have a store philosophy or mission statement? Operations like this are a function of the people involved. If you find people who are passionate and give them some encouragement and then let 'em loose, they will make the food really sing. Put people who know what they are talking about with quality products and you will gain a customer.
I'm guessing many of your people are recruited from restaurants? This merging of grocery and food service cultures certainly appeals to many in that industry ... better hours, better working environment ... this blended concept attracts good people worn down by that industry.
Will you compete with other grocers or is your niche separate? Our selection will be different. We have things like Del Monte green beans but also a few brands above that ... fresh produce, some organics. We are addressing all the same issues, but differently.
Will your customer be limited to a few zip codes? Any grocery store focuses on the 1 to 2 mile radius first, the core business. But we will become a destination for other people as well.
Did you design this after a concept you saw somewhere else? Not directly ... rather pieces of a few. One place we liked, though, was an 80 store grocer in the southeast called the Fresh Market. We're very similar to that format, but with more prime grade beef.
Who is your main competition? I'm not so certain there is a direct comparison.
Then will it be more like The Smokehouse Market or more like Whole Foods? A bit of each. Things you need every day, like bananas and tomatoes, with plenty of specialty foods to challenge you as well. It's Whole Foods without the congestion. And we plan to be a little more luxurious.
Will you source any unusual seafood? We are working with a supplier who will be exclusive to us.
Will you entice with loss leaders and aggressive specials like other grocers? No, we're really about quality food. You won't see those kinds of ads with us ... but our prices are not going to be high, either. Our gallon of milk will cost what theirs does. There'll be some paper and ancillary products but the primary focus is on food.
Will you focus on anything that this market area has either botched or ignored? We're building in good ideas from the get-go and not adding them piecemeal as others have done. In the cheese area, there's been a really informed cheese person there since day one. We have Sarah Vickers on staff [formerly of the Clayton Farmer's Market], who will ensure we have as much locally produced product as possible.
Any unique design features? Some-thing we haven't seen? The old sushi bar will be put back and used for fresh preparation and to showcase guest chefs — Zoe Robinson may show off her Bobo Noodle House products here — it'll be a great way for a restaurant to promote itself. We also have a unique bag program that goes beyond the bring-your-own-bag effort you see locally.
What happened to all Busch's wine? Did you end up with it? I did not end up with that wine collection but all those racks up there will be filled with wine. That part of the Grove Room was spectacular.
What's going on in the room with the fireplace? The bakery and gourmet cheese departments go on either side, a fresh ground coffee area connects them in the middle. The fireplace remains and compliments all those things.
What happened to the private "cabana" rooms? Those couldn't be used so they're gone. But the sculptures remained as did all the perimeter items.
Did the kitchen survive? It's still there and staying right where it is. It backs into a 56-foot-long deli — in deli terms, that's huge — that gives us lots of options.
Like what, specifically? Typically, grocery stores do not have much hot food, and typically what they have is not very good. Neither will be the case here. Plus, it will be full-service so there never will be a question if something's hot or if it's fresh. Even the soup counter will be full-service. Doing so will allow us to have 20 soups in the space other grocers would put six.
And that kitchen is huge. Another reason it works so well for us. Most restaurants don't have a meat prep room or a full pastry area ... this one did and still does.
Will you make anything that you can wholesale to local restaurants? Breads, pastas, desserts, etc. Not at this time.
Will you deliver? I would think within a 3-mile radius there might be some demand. We'll certainly deliver catered items. And we have been approached by several people who want to become a personal shopper here. We will refer them to interested customers. A bond forms there. They know how red an apple needs to be when their client wants a red apple.
Any plans to distribute day-old or dumpster-bound food? There's a group called the "freegans" who seek out expired-but-edible food in grocery store dumpsters. I would prefer that they not do that in our Dumpster.
