Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
An answer to a question that has plagued the Town of Greenville for years may finally have an answer in sight. That is, “When will the grocery store be opened?” When the site had its groundbreaking ceremony in March of 2021, the store had already been delayed for several months. At that time, then Greenville Town Manager, Lee Jones, gave a completion date of Nov. 10, 2021. After that, questions about the completion of the store were met with one seeming excuse after another as to when the store would be completed and why it was delayed for so long.
One major hurdle has been finding an operator to run the store. The original operator, Stan Dowdy, who owns several grocery stores in North Florida and South Georgia, including Clover Farms in Madison, pulled away, citing a lack of cooperation from Jones and some members of the Greenville Town Council. Another entity who was said to be coming in to operate the store, despite having no grocery store experience, claimed to drop out as a response to Jones’ firing by the Greenville Town Council in November of 2023. Several grocery store chains have been contacted to no avail. Most have stated a lack of confidence in the commercial viability of operating a grocery store in the small western Madison County community.
That changed on Thursday, June 26, during a special meeting of the Greenville Town Council. On the agenda was a resolution to accept a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Town of Greenville and DSR Public Health Foundation, Inc., a Florida-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization “with expertise in public health systems, strategic planning and food systems development,” to act as the operator for the municipal grocery store. DSR Public Health Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit that was founded by Greenville native Dr. Shamarial Roberson. Dr. Roberson has already been instrumental in achieving much grant funding for the town for various projects, including projects to improve the town’s water quality. In addition to the expertise Dr. Roberson and her team bring to the table, Dr. Roberson has solicited the help of her brother, who has over 40 years of experience in grocery store operations and management. Much of the work provided by Dr. Roberson and her team will be done on a volunteer basis.
As part of the agreement, DSR will:
• Provide experienced personnel, including experts in public health, supply chain management, grocery store operations, strategic planning and grants management.
• Advise on the operations of a grocery store, including procedures for inventory, staffing, vendor coordination and customer service.
• Assist in defining and tracking measurable outcomes related to the grocery store’s operations and community benefit.
• Deliver timely updates and regular progress reports (Dr. Roberson vowed to update the Town Council every month.).
• Ensure work is executed in alignment with industry best practices and the Town’s goals.
Dr. Roberson also vowed to, whenever possible, hire local Greenville residents when hiring for the store commences.
“This is a community partnership,” said Greenville Mayor Ryan Kornegay. “It’s not just about food, it’s also about jobs.”
Although Dr. Roberson could not give an exact date on the opening of the grocery store, she estimate that, if all goes according to plan, the store could possibly open in the late spring of 2026. Dr. Roberson also spoke about plans to hold a farmer’s market in Greenville in order to provide greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables to the town. Dr. Roberson also said that, with this being a municipal grocery store, many larger grocery chains, such as Publix, Winn Dixie, etc. may be willing to assist through their respective foundations and charitable arms. This support could come in the form of actual monetary donations, or “in kind” donations of food, etc.
A motion was made and seconded to pass the resolution supporting the MOU. The motion passed on a 4-1 vote, with Council Member Chiquila Pleas casting the dissenting vote.
The next regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council is set to take place on Monday, July 14, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Greenville Senior/Youth Building, located at 166 SW Onslow St., in Greenville.