The new store is called the Marion Barry Avenue Market & Cafe named after the former mayor who lived nearby. It’s 4,500 square feet and it’s part grocery store, part kitchen and part restaurant.
Founder and Executive Director Christopher Bradshaw said the nonprofit running the market is trying to solve some long-standing challenges in Ward 8 when it comes to providing high-quality food choices to residents.
“We’re trying to make sure that the community here in Anacostia in Ward 8, east of the river and beyond, has access to healthy food and economic opportunity,” Bradshaw said. “Despite our small footprint, we have more than 900 different items here, so there’s a lot of choice.”
He said the market “can’t compete with those big box retailers, but we’re certainly more than the convenience store, and we certainly have a culture that speaks to our community more than any of those other options.”
The Marion Barry Avenue Market & Cafe is an initiative of Dreaming Out Loud, a nonprofit that is dedicated to rebuilding urban community-based food systems. The organization is supported by investments from both public and private partners, including the Longer Tables Fund founded by Chef José Andrés, and Mayor Muriel Bowser through the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s Food Access Fund.
People entering the market will find the shelves are packed with a wide variety of competitively-priced, locally-grown vegetables and fruits. The market works with regional farms and urban growers offering items at prices that are accessible, including sliding-scale and voucher-friendly options.
Store employee Miss Que is a Ward 8 resident.
“There’s only one grocery store up on the top of the corner. It’s not enough grocery options for us, and I feel like everywhere else has it. Why not here?” she said.
Bradshaw added that if this market is successful, they’d like to add at least two or three more similar stores in the coming years.
“Our goals are really to bring more people in … and be able to replicate and make it happen across Ward 7 and Ward 8 in particular, so that we’re closing the grocery gap with community ownership and control,” he said.
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