Episode description
#019 - Today we talked to Brady Bellis from Oakland’s Rocky’s Market. The original store is located in the Oakmore neighborhood (440 Leimert Blvd, Oakland). Rocky’s is more than a local independent grocery store, it is a community fixture.
"we know so many people on a first name basis”.
AND
“we provide a lot of local food and we've worked with farmers to bring produce in and try to maintain that feel of being a neighborhood place and we generally get that feedback from our customers that that's why they shop there because they like the people that work there”.
Brady and his Oakland native partner Corinne Kinczel bought the Oakmore store in 2016 from the original owner, Rocky, who tried to rescue the store from a series of unsuccessful ownerships. They opened a 2nd store in the new Brooklyn Basin development (288 9th Avenue, Oakland) at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020. Brady credits Corrine’s Oakland roots for the company’s success.
“Corrine is a native Oakland person and she's lived here basically her whole life and she's very dialed into the community and so she was the one who had the vision of making it more than just a grocery store”.
The pandemic boosted their business by about 50% overnight and for a while they were running at 250%. It leveled off, however, but today they are performing beyond their pre-pandemic levels. They used safety protocols as a competitive advantage.
Be sure to listen to the whole interview to hear how Brady and Corrine’s first date set them on this entrepreneurial course.