Penstock Grocery: Sharing Local, Good Food

Over the last several weeks, small businesses and large corporations alike have had to stay ahead of the curve to survive. We’ve seen deep discounts, promotions, and even creative DIY kits like build-your-own pizza boxes from pizzerias. Just as quickly as the economy's landscape rapidly evolved, so did we.

In early March, we had launched our new food program called Penstock Kitchen to serve food in line with our practice to source and serve beans as closely from the farmer to cup as possible. Then in mid-March, we realized the developing challenges around COVID-19. The two most immediately met challenges were that our staff team were relying on the coffee shop for wages and that reliable access to healthy and fresh foods for families were quickly becoming limited.

We then considered what resources we had available, one of which was our recently established relationships with additional distributors who would provide ingredients that were local, organic, and heirloom for Penstock Kitchen. We knew families everywhere already had freezers that were stocked to the brim, but having healthy, fresh produce on hand meant either making endangered trips to the grocery store where inventory was never guaranteed or fighting to sign up for a slot for deliveries from grocery companies like Peapod and Instacart.

On March 21, we announced the launch of our grocery program, Penstock Grocery, a grocery subscription. We wanted to make available to the community the same local, organic, and sustainable ingredients that we had available to ourselves. With Penstock Grocery, customers pay one-time up front and continue to receive groceries every week until the end of September, either by pickup or delivery within 10 minutes of the Shop.

"Veggie Essentials", which started it all, is available in three sizes: small, medium and large. For folks who are looking for a one-time grocery order, we fulfill a limited quantity each week. In addition to fruits and veggies, we offer fridge and pantry essentials such as toilet paper, fruit, grains, milk, eggs and more. In order to receive groceries by Friday, customers must place their order by Wednesday at 12 PM through our website www.penstockcoffee.com/grocery. Our awesome baristas adapted from full-time coffee making and cafe service to sorting, bagging, and delivering groceries.

Though there are certainly many difficulties and tragedies with the outbreak of the coronavirus, we want to inspire other restaurants and cafes to be innovative, hopeful, and resolute as a pillar for their local communities. Anyone looking to sign up for Penstock Grocery can visit www.penstockcoffee.com/grocery. To sponsor Penstock in providing Saint Peters Hospital with needed masks or delicious coffee and treats, visit www.penstockcoffee.com/shop-gifts. To contact Penstock with questions or inquiries, email info@penstockcoffee.com.