Right By Nature will feature organic foods, old-fashioned service
It takes a certain audacity to invest in a startup gourmet grocery store in Pittsburgh, in the middle of a recession, in a neighborhood that's short on actual residents and already packed with specialized grocers.
But Bob Stone is so confident in the uniqueness of his store -- the new Right By Nature, opening Thursday morning at the Cork Factory Shops in the Strip District -- that he believes it will stand out immediately for even the most jaded shoppers.
"Pittsbugh was built on friendliness and courtesy," Stone says. "A lot of retailers act like they're doing you a favor by letting you shop there. ... We're looking to bring back old-fashioned service and affordability."
Yes, Stone takes the grocery business personally. Even the one-of-a-kind Strip District he sees mostly in terms of untapped potential.
"I was living in Chicago, but the competition was too heavy and the opportunity in Pittsburgh was too good to pass up," Stone says. "We're here to help make the Strip a better place -- like what it used to be."
Stone, 50, grew up in Lawrenceville and started out in the grocery business loading produce on hucksters' trucks in the Strip. Now, he finds himself back in the Strip again -- living in the Cork Factory Lofts, right next door to Right By Nature.
The 22,500-square-foot, full-service grocery will focus on fresh produce and top brand-name organic products.
Stone hopes to make these products more affordable by buying directly from producers and farmers as much as possible. He plans to put relationships made over his 20 years as a buyer for organic food distributors and grocery chains to use, putting everything from farm-raised beef to Annie's Homegrown Macaroni & Cheese on shelves without the added costs of going through distributors or middlemen.
He also hopes to expand the use of local sources wherever possible, like La Prima coffee, based nearby the Strip.
But Stone also wants Right By Nature to reach beyond affluent foodies and health-food fanatics, ultimately making this a store where everyone is comfortable shopping.
"We want people from Lawrenceville, the Hill, the North Side," Stone says. "We want to let them know, to educate them, about shopping for healthy food."
That will be a challenge. Just a quick look around at shelves still being stocked reveals dozens of unusual products, largely unfamiliar to Pittsburgh shoppers -- Hemp Dream Hemp Drink, FruitaBu Organic Smooshed Fruit, R.W. Knudsen Organic Goji Berry Drink, and in the baby-food aisle, Earth's Best Barley Teething Biscuits.
"You won't see Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, but we'll sell Annie's, and we'll explain why Annie's is better for you -- no hydrogenated oils, etc.," Stone says. "The natural foods industry never used trans fats, hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, hormones or antibiotics."
There will be in-store cafe seating and a large prepared-food section, with rotisserie meats, a pizza oven, convection oven, salad bar and soup bar, for starters.
"All of our prepared foods are made from scratch -- no opening cartons of potato salad and dumping it in a bowl," Stone says.
Parking always is at a premium in the Strip -- but Right By Nature has the distinct advantage of being located in the same building as the Cork Factory Lofts' parking garage. Customers can park "upstairs" in the garage for free for up to two hours. Curbside pickup also is available just outside the store, for shoppers who want to pop in for less than 15 minutes to grab some prepared foods or a few quick items.
Stone is a partner in Right By Nature with five other area businessmen. The store cost about $3 million to get started, he says, and will open with 110 employees.
Right By Nature's first week after the grand opening is called "Seven Days of Giving." Each day of the week, a different local charity will receive a portion of the daily sales. Recipients will include Central Catholic High School Scholarship Endowment Fund, the Pittsburgh chapter of the Easter Seals Society, the Health Hope Network, Pittsburgh Glass Works, Gilda's Club, the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank and the local chapter of the Spinal Cord Society.
Additional Information:
Right By Nature
Right By Nature will feature organic foods, old-fashioned service
Grand Opening: 8 a.m. Thursday
Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
Where: 23rd and Smallman streets, Strip District
Details: 412-454-6200.
