Soon downtown Phoenix will have a grocery store closer to home when Oakville Grocery Co. opens in Cityscape in November.
The grocery chain, which first opened in Oakville, Calif. in 1881, specializes in more specific gourmet items and already has a store in Scottsdale, located in the Scottsdale Quarter.
“You can come in at lunch or before you leave and you can go home and take a fully prepared dinner with you,” said Jay Thorne, a spokesman representing the Cityscape project.
Along with prepared meals, the store also provides gourmet food products.
“They also have a nice selection of wines and breads and just the same sort of feel and the same sort of operation as an AJ’s,” said Thorne, referring to the original Basha’s project to build an AJ’s Fine Foods in Cityscape, a deal that fell through during Basha’s bankruptcy proceedings.
The chain’s opening in downtown Phoenix comes with a caveat, though, as Thorne described Oakville Grocery’s stores as being on “the higher side of the price scale” for ASU students.
Nursing student Rebecca Coss said Oakville Grocery will not appeal to students if their prices are too high.
“I think that’s something to definitely consider because, especially as students, we want to go for the cheap prices all the time,” Coss said. “The cheaper the better.”
Other students say that regardless of price, Oakville Grocery’s close location in Cityscape will be a big enough draw for those living downtown.
“I think students might actually save money in the long run, saving money on gas, so I think when everything adds up at the end of the day, I think it’ll probably be around the same amount of money,” said Derek Trebesch, a journalism freshman living in Taylor Place.
Thorne said ASU students can buy basic goods, such as bread and milk, for cheaper prices at the nearby CVS Pharmacy and choose Oakville Grocery for ready-made, gourmet foods.
The Scottsdale Quarter location features “handmade cheeses, gourmet sandwiches [and] fire-baked oven pizzas,” according to the company website. According to Thorne, similar food options will also be available downtown.
Oakville Grocery is scheduled to open Nov. 1 and will be located on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Jefferson Street in downtown Phoenix.
The Cityscape project is scheduled open in its entirety shortly after, with grand opening celebrations taking place from Nov. 5-7 throughout the complex.
Contact the reporter at caroline.porter@asu.edu
