Our Beginning

In 1973, Nathaniel “Nate” Robinson, opened Robinson’s Market on the corner of Long and 22nd Streets. Robinson’s Market was more than a convenience store. It was a community store and it fulfilled a need. Family and friends helped run the store, credit was given and respected by families in need, children were safe there and the neighbors were engaged by the activities held there. Robinson’s Market was held together by love, service, and the community it served. Nate retired and passed away shortly afterward. The store was still being run by family, but it just wasn’t the same. The sense of community diminished and competition arose with corner stores providing items not served by the market, such as alcohol and tobacco. The love simply died. The store is gone but the building still stands as a reminder of what was and the greater things to come.

Our Mission

The King Lincoln District, Olde Towne East and surrounding neighborhoods (43203 and 43205 zip codes) do not have a full-service grocery market and most of its residents live in a food desert. These areas are classified as neighborhoods without a grocery market within at least one mile, whose residents have limited access to transportation. As of the 2010 census, nearly 22,000 residents live in 43203 and 43205 zip codes, though with the community’s recent growth, the area’s population is likely to exceed 25,000 residents as of the 2020 census. As the community grows, so has its demand for access to fresh, healthy food.

GRACE will be a retail, for profit grocery market, providing access to fresh produce, dairy, meats and grocery necessities to the Near East Side neighborhoods of Columbus, Ohio. Grace will offer fresh, healthy food with attainable access; providing superior customer service in an inviting, safe and clean environment. Grace will be a community pillar, also having a café space for a local proprietor offering healthy cooking demonstrations and events for the community in which we operate.