Nashville’s Local Grocer Bound for 20th Ave and Lyle in 2023
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 20, 2022) — Turnip Truck, Nashville’s locally owned grocery chain, will open its fourth and largest location in mid-2023 in Vanderbilt’s new graduate and professional student housing development.
“We’re thrilled to bring fresh, healthy food to the heart of Nashville on a grander scale than ever before,” said Turnip Truck founder and CEO John Dyke. “Our customers will find the local, natural and organic goods they enjoy at our other locations, in our largest store footprint.”
Situated in the heart of Midtown Nashville between Lyle and 20th Avenues, the new 616-bed mixed-use building is a joint venture between Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and Axium Infrastructure. Turnip Truck’s 23,500-square-foot store will occupy the South Tower’s ground level. With 80 store-dedicated complimentary parking spots, Turnip Truck will be easily accessible to both car and foot traffic.
Larger than Turnip Truck’s 18,000-square-foot flagship East Nashville location, the new store will offer a full-service grocery store, deli, juice bar, salad bar, hot bar, and grab-and-go meal options. Turnip Truck will offer 50 percent more food service at the new location than it does at its East Nashville, Gulch and Charlotte Avenue locations.
“We built Turnip Truck to enhance the health of our community, and we are eager to serve such a dynamic pocket of Nashville,” Dyke said. “Whether customers make the trip to this store from their homes above it, on their commutes, or from nearby neighborhoods, we want them to enjoy the welcoming, nourishing experience people expect from Turnip Truck.”
Key collaborators on the project include general contractor Crain Construction, UNFI Store Services (design) and DC Engineering.
When it comes to shopping for food, everyone has non-negotiables. Now is the time for customers to consider their sources and build relationships with brands they can trust.
Grocery shopping is not what it used to be, and that’s a problem for us all. The long-gone days of a city filled with fully stocked-and-staffed supermarkets now seem like a pre-COVID dream.
Unfortunately, the challenges are not straightforward. They require commitment by grocers, day in and day out. For my team at Turnip Truck’s three in-town grocery stores, that has looked like taking care of and retaining our team, doubling our warehouse inventory to keep shelves full, relying on local farmers and suppliers, and trusting our diversified vendor base to deliver the products we need when we need them.
These nimble moves would not be possible were we not an independently owned, local business. However, I believe mission-minded businesses of all shapes and sizes can do right by their customers if that is a core value.
As Nashville’s local grocer, I am on a mission to keep the shelves full and the service friendly for my neighbors. While there’s no magic formula to take us back to the days before shipping delays, I do have a question for savvy shoppers.
Can you trust your grocer?
Before COVID shutdowns, sanitizing sprees, quarantines and supply shortages, it was easy to take for granted that grocers would have the items shoppers needed without fail. Fast forward through the pandemic and its accompanying calamities, and it’s a whole new world. Americans have had a wake-up call to the grocer’s central role in the food-supply chain.
When it comes to shopping for food, everyone has non-negotiables. At Turnip Truck, that means offering top-notch service and healthy products our customers can trust. Every person shares a need for fresh, clean food to fuel their life. No matter your budget, zip code or grocery list, you deserve consistent access to quality food.
Now is the time for customers to consider their sources and build relationships with brands they can trust. The last two years have taught us many hard lessons and reminded us that norms can change. We can all do our part in making sure those norms change for the better, not a lowering of standards.
Never in our lifetimes have trustworthy relationships mattered more. If your retailer is letting you down, I encourage you to shop around. While every business in our sector is facing challenges, you deserve to shop with those who operate with customers’ well-being in mind.
John Dyke is the founder and CEO of Nashville’s only full service, locally owned natural foods grocer, the Turnip Truck.
Nashville’s local grocer taps Clausi for new leadership post
NASHVILLE,Tenn. – Turnip Truck, Nashville’s local grocer, has expanded its executive team by creating the position of Chief Human Resources Officer and hiring veteran HR and law enforcement leader Christopher Clausi to fill the role.
In the new post, Clausi will direct all employee relations and company culture initiatives for Turnip Truck’s three locations in the heart of Nashville. Founded 20 years ago in East Nashville by owner/CEO John Dyke, Turnip Truck connects Music City with the best local, natural and organic foods available. The company employs 150 local workers.
“My role is ensuring that Turnip Truck takes care of our employees so they can take care of our customers,” Clausi said. “I couldn’t be happier to join such a conscientious team of mission-minded people.”
A retired police lieutenant with 23 years of experience, Clausi most recently served as assistant director of the Metropolitan Nashville Community Oversight Board. For nearly two decades, he has served as a presenter, facilitator and consultant for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. Clausi earned his J.D. degree from Nashville School of Law and holds a B.S. in management and ethics from Williamson College.
“Turnip Truck is fortunate to have a leader like Chris on board as our first CHRO, a role that will be pivotal to the growth of our company and culture,” Dyke said.
NASHVILLE,Tenn. – Furthering his mission of bringing the finest farm-fresh food to Nashville, Turnip Truck founder and owner John Dyke will open his third full-service natural grocery store at 5001 Charlotte Ave., Friday, March 27, at 10 a.m.
“Two weeks ago, much of the equipment for this store was destroyed by the tornado,” Dyke said. “With Covid-19 striking on the heels of that, we knew we had to press forward to help feed our neighbors. I’m thrilled to say that – against all odds – we are opening a day earlier than we had originally planned. It won’t be as polished as we had hoped, but it will be open.”
The 15,000-sq.-ft. store will offer produce, groceries, a butcher, bulk foods, beer and wine, supplements, health and beauty items, and a filtered water station. Customers can expect the most local food available, with produce sourced within 200 miles. While this may be affected by the current situation, in a typical season, a full 90 percent or more of Turnip Truck’s produce is organic. Other products including local grass-fed meats, supplements and packaged foods are sourced for their lack of artificial colors, sweeteners, fillers, preservatives, thickeners or additives.
The store will include a hot bar, salad bar, 100% organic juice bar and deli. Due to Covid-19, the salad and hot bars are currently closed at all Turnip Truck locations.
“This would not have been possible without the herculean efforts of our team and the support of the City of Nashville,” Dyke said. “We are thrilled to have more than 90 local companies represented in our inventory. In addition, we are creating new jobs here for 70 employees.”
Turnip Truck is working to respond to increased demand for groceries citywide by adding staff. Dyke said that in the past week alone, he has hired 30 new employees for his stores to ensure shelves stay stocked. Customers can expect a highly sanitary shopping experience at Turnip Truck stores, with strict cleaning protocol and special sanitizing stations inside and out.
“With the current threat to our health, now’s the time focus on nutrition and building up our immunity,” Dyke said. “Our team has always been a health partner to our customers, and we are ready and able to help folks find the right products and supplements for their individual needs.”
Continuing Turnip Truck’s legacy of sustainable business and building practices, rooftop solar panels will provide 15 percent of the store’s energy. Turnip Truck returns vegetable debris (compost) produced in food preparation to nearby farms. Customers will find recycling stations in the new location, which will not use plastic grocery bags – a store policy since 2014.
Dyke opened the original Turnip Truck Natural Market on Woodland Street in East Nashville in 2001. An East Tennessee native, he grew up on a family farm and sought to bring the health and wellness benefits of whole, local foods to his Nashville neighborhood. Nearly two decades later, he has opened a flagship store in East Nashville, a Gulch location – and, now, a Charlotte Avenue grocery. “I opened our first store in East Nashville to meet the needs of my neighbors, and we have expanded throughout Nashville to meet demands for a truly local grocer,” he said.
ABOUT TURNIP TRUCK
Founded in 2001 by John Dyke, Turnip Truck is Nashville’s only full-service locally owned natural foods grocer. Specializing in local, natural and organic foods and products, the store has locations in East Nashville, the Gulch and Charlotte Pike. To learn more, visit theturniptruck.com.
Friends, due to the City and Federal call to action regarding COVID19 virus, and in order to take every precaution we can, we are CLOSING OUR HOT AND COLD BARS at both stores until further notice. Instead, we will make pack-outs of many of those items to provide our customers with access to salad items and warm entrees. The juice bar, produce, butcher, bakery and over-the-counter deli are still open.
To keep our shelves stocked, we have increased our orders by 50% and shipments are coming in each day. Both stores continue to be stocked.
We continue to maintain stringent hand washing requirements, and we are sanitizing surfaces at regular intervals to ensure our products, our staff and our customers are safe.
A note from our founder and owner, John Dyke:
“This month, we have seen once again how Nashvillians rally together after a disaster. With this present health threat, we expect to see the same thing – neighbors coming together to help one another. We will get through this with courage, patience and community spirit.”
TURNIP TRUCK EAST OPEN AFTER THE STORM, WHILE CHARLOTTE AVE STORE OPENING IS DELAYED
– Nashville’s Locally Owned Natural Grocer Keeps Doors Open for East Nashville –
– Tornado Destroyed Equipment for New West Nashville Location –
NASHVILE,Tenn. – Despite roof damage to the East Nashville store and losing significant equipment for the Charlotte location, Turnip Truck founder and owner John Dyke is determined to keep serving his East Nashville neighbors as the city recovers from Tuesday’s tornadoes.
“We have been running the store off a generator since the storm hit,” Dyke said. “I have lived in 5 Points for decades and founded Turnip Truck here in 2001. Our neighbors and our businesses need the city’s support now more than ever.”
Nashville’s locally owned natural foods grocer, Turnip Truck was set to open its third location on Charlotte Avenue this month. That opening is now delayed, due to the warehouse holding equipment for the store, near John C. Tune airport, being demolished in Tuesday’s storms.
“Not only did we lose the equipment, we also have hired staff for that store – and we desperately want to keep them on our payroll,” Dyke said.
Dyke said the costs of equipment replacement, roof restoration and running a grocery store off a generator are mounting. He invites his neighbors to seek refuge at the store and appeals to Nashvillians to support locally owned businesses affected by the storms.
“First and foremost, we want our neighbors to know they are welcome to come here to recharge phones, or just rest and regroup in our large dining area upstairs,” Dyke said. “For those making their way to help clean up East Nashville, we invite them to come refuel at Turnip Truck. East Nashville needs your business now more than ever as we all recover together.”
Customers can count on the most local food available, with produce sourced within 200 miles. In any season, a full 90 percent – often more – of Turnip Truck’s produce is organic. Other products such as local grass-fed meats, supplements and packaged foods are sourced for their lack of artificial colors, sweeteners, fillers, preservatives, thickeners or additives.
Dyke opened the original Turnip Truck Natural Market on Woodland Street in East Nashville in 2001. The East Tennessee native grew up on a family farm and sought to bring the health and wellness benefits of locally produced foods to his Nashville neighborhood.
ABOUT TURNIP TRUCK
Founded in 2001 by John Dyke, Turnip Truck is Nashville’s only full-service locally owned natural foods grocer. Specializing in local, natural and organic foods and products, the store has locations in East Nashville, the Gulch and Charlotte Pike. To learn more, visit theturniptruck.com.