While it’s not uncommon to see a group of tourists to Nashville pushing a “borrowed” Publix shopping cart filled with White Claw up the hill to their Airbnb, visitors and locals alike need to actually lay in provisions for longer periods.
Fortunately, the city is blessed with a wide variety of grocery shopping options. “New Nashville” is filled with transplants, both international and from across the U.S., and each group brings a specific set of wants and needs when they move here.
Sorry, Californian expats, you won’t find Safeway in Music City. Heck, we just got wine in grocery stores within the past decade. Texans probably miss H-E-B as much as Northeasterners long for Wegmans. What we do have are plenty of smaller independent groceries as well as all the benefits of major chains like Publix and Kroger.
There may be choices to make along the way. Should you shop at the closest Kroger, but still make an extra stop for an eight-piece box of delicious fried chicken at Publix on the way home? Yes, you should.
Arm yourself with this list of some of Nashville’s most valuable markets the next time you go shopping.
#1
The Turnip Truck East Nashville
#2
Brentwood Kroger
With more than a dozen stores within the city limits, Kroger has been the dominant chain in Nashville since the 1970s. The supermarket giant cemented its position in 2013 when it purchased Harris Teeter, the Charlotte-based grocery chain that teased Nashville with its excellent customer service and selection for a few years before folding in under the Kroger brand name. Kroger does many things the right way, and at larger locations like the 84,000-square-foot store in Brentwood, you’ll encounter well-stocked produce, meat and seafood sections as well as a wide selection of private brands. While the days of Kroger’s “Cost Cutter” brand of beer at $3.00 a six-pack are long past, they do support local brewers with a nice offering of craft beers. 210 Franklin Rd.
#3
Whole Foods Green Hills
The affluent neighborhood of Green Hills was the first part of Nashville to acquire a Whole Foods (as well as Trader Joe’s)—much to the indignation of other parts of town, which simply didn’t have the concentration of per capita income to trigger the chain’s complex and successful location-selection algorithm. When it first opened in 2007, the 48,000-square-foot store represented Whole Foods’ first foray into the Volunteer State. The lucky yoga pants-wearing shoppers of Green Hills now benefit from hot and cold food bars laden with alluring prepared foods, as well as a wide variety of organic products, and butcher and seafood counters that are filled with multifold choices. 4021 Hillsboro Pike
#4
Osborne’s Bi-Rite
The real attraction is the deli counter tucked in the back corner of the store that operates more like a traditional Nashville “meat and three” restaurant than a deli. A rotating menu of classic Southern specialties like baked chicken, meatloaf with red sauce, fried catfish, and a host of down-home side dishes are so beloved that frequent customers plan their weekly calendar around stopping in to pick up a styrofoam clamshell filled with Bi-Rite goodness for lunch. 3116 Belmont Blvd.
#5
Publix at Capitol View
#6
Aleksey’s Market
Nashville has plenty of markets to pick up ingredients for Latin American or Asian cuisine, but no place serves the Eastern European community like Aleksey’s. Its cases are filled with dozens of varieties of exotic imported cheeses, cured meats, specialty seafood products, and fresh-baked German breads. In addition to prepared foods, customers can stock their larders with staples such as spices, condiments, and grains. They also maintain a rental library of Russian books and movies for an evening of international entertainment. 718 Thompson Ln.
The Post states, “The effects of a tumultuous 2020 were still evident in 2021. Now, the region’s business, political and civic leaders are helping bring their organizations into a new era. Those on it embody what it means to be ‘in charge,’ and it will be up to them to make sure the city and state continue their collective forward trajectory.
John Dyke —Owner, The Turnip Truck: Always-pleasant natural foods advocate who in 2020 opened a grocery on Charlotte Avenue in West Nashville to supplement his Gulch and east side stores, the latter of which began operations in early 2001.”
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.