You didn’t think they’d leave Parkies without a grocery store, now did you? Of course not! Hot news – Nancy Nichols reports on SideDish that Washburne signed a deal just last night with Austin-based Royal Blue Grocery Store. The urban market has everything from bagels and breakfast tacos to antipasto and cheese platters. They also do deli-type catering for one or fifty. The new store is slated to open July 1 in the spot vacated by Tom Thumb at HPV.
Per Washburne, in Nancy’s piece Royal Blue
…will carry the “basics” as well as a deli counter, unique coffees, meats, “grab and go” foods, and beer and wine.
But doesn’t Eatzi’s carry all that nearby on Oak Lawn? Not having a “normal” grocery store in HPV is just very confusing to me. I don’t live near there, but I’ve helped put on a few charity events in HPV stores, such as Billy Reid and Tory Burch, and when I needed an extension cord, another AAA battery for a mic, and extra bar mixers 20 minutes before guests were expected to arrive, that Tom Thumb sure was handy! But this store sounds deelish. We shall see how Royal Blue meets HPV and its patrons’ needs. This will be Royal Blue’s first store north of Austin.
Oh but do plan on bringing in your own shopping bags. Here’s what the Royal Blue folks said about the bag ban a few months ago:
For smaller retailers such as Royal Blue Grocery, which has three locations in Austin, the impact is relatively minor since most of its shoppers use very few bags, if any at all.
“We stopped using them (plastic bags) once we knew this was coming,” Royal Blue co-owner Craig Staley said about the ordinance. “For us, it was much more about making the right decision – that outweighed the dollars and cents.”
