The new Royal Blue Grocery in Highland Park Village is inching closer to opening its doors, with a target date of late September or early October, according to a release. This is a great perk for Park Cities residents who find the drive down University Boulevard to the old Simon David too onerous to endure.
Royal Blue Grocery was founded in Austin in 2006, but this branch is owned and operated by Dallas residents Zac Porter, Emily Ray-Porter, and Cullen Potts. At 6,000 square feet and two stories tall, it'll be the largest in the Royal Blue Grocery family. It will serve not only as the shopping center's grocer, but also as a restaurant offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner service.
Each Royal Blue Grocery carries a different variety of food, beverage, and household items, tailored to the surrounding neighborhood and people it serves. This store will house mainstay departments such as produce, bakery, butcher shop, deli, floral, beer, and wine. But it will also have catering, a cafe, patio seating, and a Stumptown coffee bar. There'll be seating for 70-plus in the cafe, on the mezzanine level, and on the outside patio. Wine selections can be purchased at retail prices to enjoy onsite.
Co-owner Zac Porter says the store will fill a number of roles under one roof.
"We're convenient, but not just a convenience store," he says. "We carry gourmet products, but we're not just a gourmet grocery store. We feel it's important that everyday household brand names are available."
That includes French's, Heinz, Frito-Lay, Borden, Clorox, Dr Pepper, and more. The store will be stocked with local, national, and international products. Gourmet brands include Olympic Provisions, Cypress Grove Chevre, Olli Salumeria, Grandma's Hummus, and McClure's Pickles. Wine labels include Cakebread Cellars, Sassicaia, Opus One, and Orin Swift Cellars.
Specialty household needs include Method, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, Avalon Organics, and Alba Botanica.
Local patissieres, chocolatiers, fromagiers, juicers, and butchers will offer their goods in-store as well.
The store will open daily, 7 am to midnight.
Royal Blue Grocery will have mainstay groceries but also a dining-in option with wine and coffee.
