KC online grocery did so well with local produce, meats & dairy, it’s opening a shop

Just a couple of months before the pandemic hit Kansas City, Marcelle Clements started a once-a-week, delivery-only grocery service.

Sales surged when shelter-in-place orders took hold. So she expanded her offerings, with customers buying all the “beans and rice they could get.”

Now, with a loyal following and city mandates easing, Clements and her husband, Seth, are adding a brick-and-mortar version of the online store, picking a midtown spot just a few minutes from their Volker neighborhood home.

Pantry Goods Market is scheduled to open at 910 W. 39th St. on April 12.

“This will give people more options: shop in the store, shop online and pick up at the store, or shop online and have it delivered,” she said.

It bills itself as a zero-waste, plastic-free pantry and local farmers market and will carry local meat, local seasonal produce, bulk dry goods and pantry staples. That will include fresh breads from Ibis Bakery; coffee from the Roasterie; butter and milk from Hildebrand Farms Dairy in Junction City, Kansas; meat from Barham Family Farm in Kearney; produce from New Roots for Refugees in Kansas City, Kansas; yogurt and cheese from Skyview Farm and Creamery in Pleasanton, Kansas; and ice cream from Betty Rae’s Ice Cream.

Packaging can be returned to the store, recycled or composted. Glass bottles and jars will have a $2 deposit.

“The rate that people consume is overwhelming. Single-use plastic is a problem, I think everyone recognizes it,” Clements said. “Here you rent your packages instead of buying trash. This is a small start.”

She also is partnering with Soap Refill Station KC in Waldo. Customers choose from a variety of soaps in containers and pay a $1 deposit for the container.

Pantry Goods also is now offering next day delivery, Monday through Saturday, within 35 miles of the store.

Before launching the online market, Clements spent about 18-months researching services, along with farms and small vendors locally and across the country. She also had a mentor through SCORE, a nonprofit that provides free mentoring services to small business owners. It is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Seth Clements is a project manager for a Chicago construction company and is doing the build-out on the new store. She relocated from South Africa after marrying him in 2015.