COLORADO SPRINGS — It's a huge step in bringing healthy and affordable food to downtown Colorado Springs.
The area, currently somewhat of a food desert, will soon have a grocery store.
Bread & Butter Neighborhood Market will be coming to downtown May of 2020 as a locally-owned community grocery store. The two owners working on this project hope to make a big impact on residents in this area.
Co-owner Aubrey Day said, "Downtown Colorado Springs is basically devoid of grocery stores."
The closest ones nearby like the Safeway's on Nevada and Wahsatch or the Natural Grocers are still at least one to three miles away from downtown.
Day said, "If you don't have access to a vehicle or don't have a lot of time on your hands and you're limited by affordability...not having a convenient market becomes a real challenge in terms of accessing food."
That means some people might be turning to convenience stores which don't always have the healthiest options.
Day said, "If we really want more people to live downtown, which is an effort that is ongoing, they've got to have access to a grocery store."
Which is exactly what Day and Co-owner Stacy Poore will be bringing to downtown this coming spring. The store, which will be located at 602 S. Nevada Avenue where the current Vet Center is, will have 1700 square feet for groceries and 800 square feet for spirits.
Poore said, "We'll provide as much local produce and products as we possibly can...it'll be smaller. We won't have as many items to choose from in any particular category, but if you want to find greeting cards, flowers, a nice bottle of wine, dinner for the evening, those things will be available to you."
Hygiene and household items will also be in the store.
Poore said, "Our hope is that the community can really count on Bread & Butter."
Poore said they also hope to create some good jobs for people. They'll be hiring a mix of full and part-time workers - about 15 positions. Renovations for the store will start early next year.
