After beginning his career in retail real estate, Zac Porter was not expecting to go into the grocery business. But on business trips to Austin, he found himself making frequent stops in a local bodega called Royal Blue Grocery. Soon after, he approached the owners of the Austin-based business about expanding to Dallas.
Venturing into unknown territory with his wife and best friend, Porter has found success in the neighborhood grocery business.
"We had a lot of people warn us against [business partnership], but I thought what a treat that would be to be able to do that," Porter said. "And, we had some pretty serious discussions as we were signing our partnership documents establishing where the boundaries were going to be [between the personal and professional relationships]."
The trio now operates three Royal Blue Grocery locations with plans for expansion once the pandemic subsides.
Reflecting back to pre-pandemic days, Porter said he felt like they had just moved beyond start-up mode just before the virus hit. "We were stabilized and positioned for success. We had worked out all of the wrinkles and the economy was behind us—until March 2020, when things took a turn."
As the pandemic cast a shadow across the country, it was immediately evident that the grocery industry would be considered essential.
"We were all very grateful to be an essential business and not to have to close like some of our friends in the restaurant or bar business…but coming to work every day, you didn't know if you were putting yourself at risk or not. However, we felt like we had a role to play in supporting the neighborhood and our customers," he said.
Within a few days Porter and his team pivoted to support customers by offering curbside and delivery services. He said demand for those services has since slowed a bit, but they plan to continue those offerings as more of a concierge service.
"Especially in the midst of the pandemic, we have been focused on maintaining our relationships—with customers, vendors and other businesses in the community," Porter said. "The opportunity for human-to-human interaction is something you just can't replicate online. We're glad to be able to provide that town square sort of feel and we've had really positive feedback from our customers, especially as things have begun to open up a bit more."
Watch the video for more of Porter's pandemic takeaways as he chats with BOK Financial's Cashin White.
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