Sahara Mart to open second location on Bloomington’s eastside

The owner of Sahara Mart, an organic grocery store that boasts the state’s largest selection of chocolate, will open a second location by Christmas if all goes well. \nThe newest addition to Javad Noori’s “organic food, gourmet and international” grocery stores will be located at 611 E. Third St. \n“I’m excited to bring more items, create jobs, create taste and bring more flavor to the community,” Noori said. “It just takes a long time because we’re using a big, two-story building that has never been a grocery store before, and we want to make one great example of a good grocery store.”\nNoori, an IU graduate, first opened Sahara Mart 21 years ago with only 500 square feet of space, but with the new store and the expansion of the old, he now has more than 29,000 square feet of space between the two locations.\nAlong with the largest selection of chocolate in the state, the business, jointly owned by Noori and his family, also has the largest wine selection under one roof in the country, the biggest selection of vitamins in Bloomington and more than 400 kinds of beer, he said.\n“I love this store,” said Jim Ray, a Bloomington resident and Sahara Mart shopper. “I think the new location will be great too. (Noori) does a great job and has a great selection of wine and olives.”\nHigh prices are sometimes associated with organic food. However, Noori said Sahara Mart tries to keep prices low. He said it is only a little more expensive than non-organic stores. And on Tuesdays he offers 10 percent off anything in the store. \n“If people would just try organic food and understand how good it is for the body, I guarantee they would never eat non-organic again,” Noori said.\nIU juniors Tina Mrozinski and Allison Dolezal said they love shopping at Sahara Mart. \n“We just live right down the street, so it’s really convenient,” Mrozinski said. \nNoori said he loves getting feedback from customers. \n“It keeps me so energized to expand my business when I hear how much people love my store,” Noori said.