Last Wednesday, six Grant Magazine staffers followed New Seasons Market’s Grant Park Community Coordinator Justin Rossman on a tour inside the newly constructed New Seasons Market on 32nd and Broadway. While from the outside the complex still appeared vacant, the inside was bustling with brown-aproned staff members eagerly working to set things in motion for store’s grand opening the following week.
“We’re hoping we’re going to get through the opening and the holidays, which are pretty chaotic for us,” says store manager Jon Rich.
Navigating through the heaps of cardboard and Styrofoam strewn about the typically spotless isles, Rossman introduced Grant Magazine to each individual department within the store, weaving in information to support the store’s philosophy of fostering a community environment. Portraits of local farmers who provide for New Seasons’ hung above the empty produce section. A “Community Board” hung near the store’s only restrooms, a space that is intended for people of the community to have a place to post notices and advertisements.
Jon Rich, the store manager, halted his brisk walk to the register counter to quickly chat about the store’s new department additions that will be particular to the Grant Park Village location. A state of the art vendor demo bar resides kitty-corner to the restrooms, while a juice and toast bar nestle into the curbside cafeteria section.
“My job is to keep the staff happy, and their job is to keep our customers happy,” says Rich, adding that he is excited about the potential influx of student customers during lunchtime. “I was a knuckle nose as a high school kid and I’m hoping that you guys, you know, are pretty well behaved but at the same time…we’re excited to be in the neighborhood. And you’re a big part of the neighborhood, so we’re not worried. I think it’s going to be a great relationship for sure.”
Rich scurried away as Rossman swung around to the deli, where Meat Manager David Real articulated the new and improved air-circulating meat display cases. He says that what distinguishes his job with New Seasons from past jobs is the cultivated farmer-store relationship.
“Never in my life have I been able to pick up a phone, talk to the person that grew this lamb leg or this cattle and then have the customer right in front of me,” says Real. “And I’ve been doing this for 20 years.”
A quick trip downstairs revealed the inner workings of the delivery system, and Rossman described New Seasons’ policy for dealing with waste. “Even though we do generate waste of course, we recycle and compost enough that we’re considered zero waste, which is pretty cool, considering we have 15 stores,” he explains. The damaged goods are distributed between staff and local non-profit organizations, and if there are still leftovers, the contributing farmers’ pigs won’t complain. The store’s excess water is recycled through multiple fountains housed by the courtyard of the corresponding apartment units.
Upstairs, the air is filled with mixed aromas as the hot food department comes into view. Employees took a break from stacking the shelves with packaged foods to grab lunch. Not a bad deal. Servers went through the motions of asking the “customer” what they wanted and how, while the chefs furiously whipped up dishes in the background. Rossman pointed out small customer comment cards located in various places around the food court. Whether a customer receives poor service or has a suggestion for a certain product for the store to consider, he or she can turn in a comment card that will be viewed and considered by the store’s merchandiser, Grace Tara-Hileman.
“It’s a great place to work – it really is,” says Tara-Hileman, who is enjoying getting ready for the store to open. “This is like our time to shine,” she says, from a merchandise perspective. “We get to decide where everything goes, put in in the place, make it beautiful, get the programs running; and then I’m outta here. Then I have to go to the other thirteen-fourteen stores I have been to in three weeks.”
As a part of New Seasons’ progressive mentality, the company’s collective aim is to provide top-notch service to their customers, while also keeping a respected staff atmosphere. Their “speak up” policy enables staff members to voice any issues that may arise in their work environment; everything from relocating a trashcan to maximize efficiency to resolving inter-staff relational conflicts.
Similarly, the New Seasons team is adamant about generating relationships with other businesses in the immediate Grant Park community. Students and faculty at Grant can expect to be included. Already, the company has agreed to showcase students’ artwork on the walls near the street side entrance. Internship opportunities are under negotiation, and the store has already hired two Grant students as employees.
“I feel we’ve done amazing in these last 14 years and so we’re just continuing to grow,” says Rossman. “And what’s healthy grows. As we continue to grow, we just have to keep asking ourselves every single day, are we doing everything we can to remain local, to remain in the community, to have those values that we have…and how are we going to keep those intact?”
On Wednesday, November 12th, at 10 a.m., the Grant Park Village New Seasons Market grand opening will begin with a march through the store by Grant’s jazz band, followed by a ceremonious breaking of a typical 8 foot long loaf of bread.
Look forward to further coverage by Grant Magazine.
