The apartments keep coming. Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods such as Mill Street and Hillside have long been food deserts. And the once-booming events business that The Warehouse did just never rebounded after COVID. You might just boil that all down as an explanation of why Chef James and Shaundy Africano decided to open The Warehouse Urban Grocer — but that would be missing the heart of it all. The Africanos love serving the community, especially when it comes to food.
“The community aspect of it has always been important to us as a restaurant,” James says. “We’ve been involved in giving away tens of thousands of dollars worth of food and labor and service over the years doing things for people. I think it’s important to serve the community and local causes.”
It was, in fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic when Chef James began packaging grocery staples into family-sized portions to help neighbors access fresh food during supply shortages. Now the Urban Grocer is a unique chef-driven, full-service grocery. Think restaurant-quality food by one of the city’s most creative chefs with the convenience of a local market.
“For years, we have welcomed people into The Warehouse to gather around great food and meaningful experiences,” James says. “Urban Grocer is the next chapter of that vision. We wanted to create a neighborhood market where people can stop on their way home, pick up dinner, discover regional products and find ingredients they can trust. Great cities are built around great neighborhoods, and every great neighborhood deserves a place that brings people together.”…