Fresh, healthy food feeding growth

When John Wood and his wife, Alexandra “Aly” Marks-Wood, bought property in Portsmouth, built a new 3,000-square-foot building and bought equipment to launch The Green Grocer, they had no way of knowing their new business would face the layers of challenges added by the financial crisis that became known as the Great Recession.
In the seven years since they’ve opened the doors to The Green Grocer, however, they’ve focused on responding to the needs and requests of their customers and made adjustments to solidify and expand the customer base, as well as keeping a commitment to community service and education.
John Wood’s experience goes back to being a cook in the Army and nine years as a manager of a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Manchester, N.H.
“One thing I’ve learned is that if you’re not available when your customers want you, they will go somewhere else and you’ll have a hard time getting them back,” said Wood, a Rhode Island native.
The vision for launching The Green Grocer is based on the couple’s knowledge that residents in the Portsmouth, Middletown and Newport areas had to drive to Whole Foods in Providence to get a wide selection of organic and natural food.
“We’ve been eating this way for a long time and … realized there wasn’t a comprehensive, one-stop shop for this kind of food,” said Wood.
Providing locally grown produce, as much as possible, importing certified organic food from places including Florida, California, Venezuela, Mexico and Chile and supporting small, local producers for items such as chocolate create the foundation of the business.
Being responsive to customer requests is another critical element in building a following over the years. As the customer base grew, there were requests to adjust the 7:30 a.m. opening on weekdays.
“People kept saying, ‘If you were open at 7, I could stop by before work.’ So now we open at 7 a.m.,” said Wood.
Muffins are a big morning attraction.
“They’re easily softball size,” said Wood. “We use great ingredients. We don’t use oil, we use applesauce. There are no eggs as a binder. We use flaxseed meal and spelt flour,” said Wood. Spelt flour is a nutritious and flavorful flour often used in baked goods. One Facebook posting by a customer of The Green Grocer said, “Find me a better muffin in Rhode Island,” along with the store’s description of the day’s muffin offerings of blueberry coconut, pumpkin apple butter and cranberry almond vanilla.
One day The Green Grocer’s prepared-lunch offerings included tomato bisque, turkey gumbo and Aztec chili.
“People often stop on the way to work to pick up something for breakfast or lunch,” said Wood.
With meat, such as chicken, and other products, Wood said the overall description is “clean.”
“There are no growth hormones, no pesticides, no antibiotics, no [genetically modified organisms],” said Wood.
The Green Grocer has built a loyal customer base. The store earned the Rhode Island Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year award from the U.S. Small Business Administration earlier this year.
“My wife and I started with five or six employees, but it’s only been in the last year-and-a-half or two years that we really started to feel solid, steady growth,” said Wood. “Up until that point, we were dealing with a troubled economy and people had difficult decisions to make about their finances and food is a big decision.”
As with any business, there are challenges.
“My plan is to create financial stability for the business. We’ve got a large chunk of financing we need to address,” said Wood.
Finding the right employees is another concern, he said.
“We have 7.7 percent unemployment in Rhode Island and it’s challenging for me to fill two part-time positions I have open now,” said Wood.
“I have people coming in and filling out job applications and they want to make $17 an hour to ring a cash register,” he said. “The other issue is availability,” said Wood. “They only want to work certain days or certain hours.”
Being available to the community is also important for the owners of The Green Grocer.
One project that’s been going on for five years is going into the food and nutrition classes at Portsmouth Middle School. With a recent change in teachers, that project is in the process of being restarted, said Wood.
“The kids are at an age when they’re becoming independent and forming their own opinions about what they like,” he said. •

COMPANY PROFILE
The Green Grocer
OWNERS: John H. Wood II and Alexandra Marks-Wood
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Natural and organic food retailer
LOCATION: 934 East Main Road, Portsmouth
EMPLOYEES: 8 full time, 7 part time
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2007
ANNUAL SALES: $1.6 million in 2013

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