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Central Standard

The Past, Present And Future of Midtown's Only Corner Grocery Store

Courtesy photo
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Nature's Own Health Market

Before it was a grocery store, the small space at the corner of 43rd and Main streets housed, over the years, a drugstore, a coffee shop that hosted live music, a Whole Foods and a Wild Oats.

For the past five years, it’s been the home to Nature’s Own Health Market.

The corner grocery store holds a special place in the hearts of many Kansas Citians, as Mary Jo Draper recently discovered.

Draper, the editor of the Midtown KC Post, published a slideshow of historic Midtown grocery stores from the 1940s, which garnered a huge response.

“What people have been saying is that they remember these kind of little stores where everybody knew you, where you went in and they knew your name, where you knew people in the community,” Draper told Gina Kaufmann on KCUR's Central Standard.

“Many, many, many people seem to remember that their mother would send them to the corner store for milk — and give them a little extra money and they could buy some candy,” she added.

The Corner Shop

That communal feel lives on at Nature’s Own, according to Arwen Zigmond-McBroom, a longtime Midtown resident who works at the store.

The store gives people an idea of what the community is like in that area, she said. A bulletin board showcases local events.

The clientele also plays a part in the neighborhood feel of the store.

“There’s a wide representation of Midtown, which is one of the things that makes it so great,” she said.

Some customers have been shopping there for over 30 years. And because the store attracts people from a wide socioeconomic range, the employees are in tune with their needs.

“You get entire demographics and people are there because they want to be there,” she said.

“They are not maybe necessarily able to afford to shop at the chain grocery stores, which you would think would offer a better price point. But there’s something about this small store that, because it is not just there for the money, they’re really able to get in touch with what their customers need.”

Credit Nature's Own Health Market
For the past five years, Nature's Own Health Market has called the corner of 43rd and Main streets home.

The Store's Future

With a Whole Foods slated to open nearby at 51st and Oak streets, Nature’s Own will face some competition.

According to owner Jeff Henkle, they’re planning on carrying on as usual; they’ll continue to expand on what they’re doing, he said.

“We believe the neighborhood is strong enough and wants us here,” he said. “We’ll do our best and keep doing what we’re doing.”

Zigmond-McBroom agrees that it comes down to the community.

“It’s not just for the customers; it’s for the employee, it’s for the owner. It creates this community that is really hard to find in a chain grocery store — in a chain store of any kind,” she said.

“I think one of the most important things to realize is that if you want to have this kind of store, it’s not going to be your big moneymaker. You’re going to do it because you love to do it and because you like the community and you think it’s important.”

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Central Standard Midtown