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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Lucky's Grand Opening gives more options

Elizabeth Cox prepares to put a platter inside a display case in the deli department Wednesday at Lucky's Market.

Cars and people flood the parking lot at the grand opening of Lucky’s Market. Inside, all registers are fully staffed with cashiers in uniform baseball T-shirts filling brown paper bags full of groceries.

Two guitarists who sit at one entrance of the store play live music. The other entrance has three garage-door-sized openings with no doors at all, filling the space with the smell of the rain outside mixed with the scent of fresh produce.

Employees in chef coats hand out free samples, and frequently, an employee asks a customer how they’re doing.

Lucky’s Market came to Bloomington in order to become part of the community and to make positive changes.

“It’s our commitment to community that’s important to us,” Store Director Greg Johnson said.

This commitment is displayed on a sign at the entrance to the store. It’s titled “Lucky’s Community Project” and lists support for Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Hoosier Hills Food Bank and New Hope Family Shelter.

The sign invites people to shop on June 16, when Lucky’s will be giving 10 percent of profits to the YMCA. It also states that nonprofits receive a 7 percent discount on all gift cards and displays the number of paid hours their employees use to volunteer at a charity of their choice.

Johnson said he was satisfied with how the community has responded to the grand opening. He didn’t have an exact number, but estimated by the end of the day they would have serviced several thousand customers. Parking was the only struggle he ?faced all day.

“It’s definitely more than we expected,” Johnson said. “Everyone’s been so supportive. I’ve opened a lot of stores, and I’ve never had a welcoming as strong, loving and humble as Bloomington.”

Johnson is a Hoosier native born in Evansville who then moved to Bedford. He went west for several years where he opened his grocery stores but wanted to come ?back home.

“This is home,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t born in Bloomington, but being an IU Hoosiers fan all my life and viewing Bloomington as the big city made me want to come back. It’s a big city, but has a hometown feel.”

Lucky’s is also committed to bringing good and healthy food at affordable prices. The store includes a bakery and café, butcher shop, pharmacy, liquor store and typical ?grocery items.

These sections include local organic brands, big name organic brands and generic brands to allow customers to get their needs met all in ?one place.

“Lucky’s sells conventional stuff,” Kit Gambill, a Lucky’s employee, said. “You can find local grass-fed milk here, Horizon organic milk here, or Prairie Farms, which just gives people options.”

Gambill said this gives people the ability to choose which items are worth spending more on and which aren’t. She also said the store will offer sales on the local items, giving those who usually can’t afford pricier items a chance to try them out.

Lucky’s ethics around food are a major reason why Gambill decided to work at ?the store.

“I just graduated from IU in political science and focused on food policy,” Gambill said. “Lucky’s offers recent college grads a convenient way to get healthier products ?affordably.”

Bloomington resident and shopper Anastasia Borders said she usually shops at Kroger or Bloomingfoods but came to Lucky’s to see the grand opening and said she was very happy she did.

From her experience she said she did witness price differences, but it really ?depended on the product.

“So far I’ve seen some things cheaper than Kroger, but I’ve also seen products here that are more expensive than at Bloomingfoods,” ?Borders said.

Halfway through the store Borders said she already knew she would be coming back, and Lucky’s may become her primary place to grocery shop.

“Everything is arranged in a way that makes you want to buy it,” Borders said. “I wish I had a bigger cart because I can’t fit everything I want to buy in here.”

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