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The options tend to be bleak when you’re on the go and don’t have time to actually sit down to eat your lunch. Between inadequate sugary drinks and processed grab-and-go meals, your local corner deli is hardly caught up with the times—until now. Welcome to The Goods Mart, the socially-conscious convenience store shaking up the archaic 7-Eleven business model.
The New York outpost at 189 Lafayette Street is an extension of the Silver Lake location that opened earlier this year. The brainchild of PR mastermind Rachel Krupa, founder of the boutique food and wellness PR firm Krupa Consulting, TGM’s focus is on curating products for a reimagined neighborhood space. “From snacks to butter and toilet paper to shampoo, every item we stock has been hand-curated for amazing taste or function and ethical, eco-responsible practices,” says Krupa.
Healthy foods and drinks can be super expensive, which is exactly what inspired Krupa to make good-for-you, ethically-sourced foods accessible to the community. “I had a lightbulb moment as I chatted with a builder and learned that most to-go coffee in the area was out of his daily budget,” she says. “He was building my dream, so I owed it to him, and the rest of our neighbors, to make The Goods Mart a place where everyone can shop.”
That means $1.25 8-ounce La Colombe coffee and grab ‘n’ go snacks, like New York Italian Sandwich staple Alidoro, L.A.’s famed Burritos La Palma burritos, Westbourne cashew pudding, and Loosie’s Kitchen and Café quinoa salad—all under $10 dollars. There’s also a vast offering of upcycled “cosmetically challenged” organic fruits and veggies, all from Local Roots. And what would a reconfigured 7-Eleven be without the slushies? In The Goods Mart version, they’re organic and bursting with inventive flavors like pineapple ginger kombucha (from Kelvin Slush Co.) in paper cups and straws.
The store is conscious of being planet-friendly, too—there will never be single-serve plastic bottles at the store. TGM wanted to give back to the community, in addition to Mother Earth. Each month, they’ll donate all of their tips to a local charity; this month, it’ll be The Bowery Mission, where they serve the homeless and hungry.
The Silver Lake store includes an iconic graphic mural on the exterior of the building by Love Berto, and for the NY outpost, the artist is back. This time, his hypnotic canvas is the store’s ceiling.
We’re super impressed by their vast offerings of everything from organic She tampons to Late July Jalapeno Lime organic tortilla chips to Bear’s Fruit kombucha—The Goods Mart is a celebration of indie brands, in all varieties of categories trying to make a change and difference for you and the planet. Finally, there’s a place on-the-go worthy of your hard earned dollars. Plus, who can deny $1.25 coffee?