February 25, 2015 - Lethbridge Sun Times - page 15 BEST OF THE BEST A grocery store like in the good old days
Lindsay Ducharme For the Sun Times
M
iss the good old days of the milkman and shopping at stores where people knew your name? You are not alone, as
proven by Urban Grocer’s win as “Best Grocery Store” in the Sun Times’ annual Best of the Best survey. The retailer has managed to successfully bring back the old-school, mom-and-pop store feel to Lethbridge. “It’s providing a place
for people in the community to get the things that they need so partially convenience items, but also supporting the community and people in Lethbridge,” store owner Julia Baranec explained of the store’s philosophy. “We carry a lot of local
products; small producers like Red Engine Coffee, Sweet Grass Bison which is a small bison ranch in Lethbridge. We pick businesses and producers that we like to support and help them grow, too.” “All of our meat is locally sourced,” she
continued. “All of our meat is well made, it’s organic and hormone and antibiotic free. We also have some cool meats as well, like bison and yak-cross beef that a lot of people really like but had never tried before they came in the store.” “All of our eggs are sourced locally, we
have local organic dairy,” she added. “We carry Saucy Ladies. There’s a lady named Coleen Barton in Magrath who does our baking on a weekly basis. We have so many
local people that contribute to what we have in the store and what makes this store unique. On the flipside, we also have convenience items for people who need them, we want to be for the whole community.” Baranec, who took over Urban
Grocer in October 2014, has remained true to the vision original owner Cheryl Meheden began when she opened the store in 2012. “I live in this
neighbourhood and when Cheryl was telling me she was thinking of selling, I was interested and had a vested interest in who she sold to. My husband and I thought about it and decided it would be nice to contribute to the community and
keep it going the way that Cheryl set it up because it has been such a positive move,” Baranec said. “To be able to be a part of the
community this way and help people grow their business, while growing mine, it’s win- win. It’s been really fun,” she added. Taking home the title of Best
of the Best is reinforcement for Baranec that the community cares about local products and accessing services that provide a personal touch. “It’s really exciting. I’m humbled. I think
we have time to put in and chat with people to learn about what they need, about what they want and I’m very responsive to my customers.” Responsive indeed. Baranec
goes out of her way to carry hard-to-find products her customers come seeking. If she does not have an item in store, she’s happy to make a special order for them. “I have a customer who
wanted this Dutch processed chocolate powder to make chocolate milk,” she said. “I found it in my catalogue and I ordered it in for him. Things like that are really easy for me to do because I’m very small, I can I deal with customers one on one, whereas a big store, it’s hard to have that happen, you don’t really have that flexibility. I think the small community element is probably why people love us and what we pride ourselves on.” “We exchange information,
PHOTO BY LINDSAY DUCHARME
Julia Baranac operates Urban Grocer with the same focus on community and a personal touch that the store’s founder, Cheryl Meheden, established.
the thing that we have that a lot of the big stores don’t is that personal connection;
they tell me what products they want brought in, we exchange recipes, discuss music all that kind of stuff,” she continued. “That’s been really rewarding. I know my staff — who are amazing — really enjoy working here, the atmosphere and interacting with our regulars who will come in and sit down and chat for a few minutes while they have a cup of coffee.” Urban Grocer is located at 1016 9th Ave. S.
For more information, visit their website
http://urbangrocer.ca.
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