BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Fountain Heights gets a grocery store of its own on Saturday, Nov. 7, when We All Eat Market opens its doors at 1201 16th St. N., ending a stretch of roughly 70 years without one in the north Birmingham neighborhood.
The store is run by Fountain Heights Farms Cooperative and sits inside the group’s new Heart of the Farm building, which also holds a community kitchen. Co-founders Christopher Gooden and Dominique Villanueva both live in the neighborhood.
The celebration starts at 11 a.m. and wraps up at 5 p.m., with a ribbon cutting set for 11:30 a.m. Kids get their own activities, and visitors can mix herbal tea and enter for door prizes.
Shelves will carry Alabama-grown produce, meat and eggs alongside everyday staples, plus bulk herbs and spices. Some of the produce comes from lots farmed inside Fountain Heights itself. The store will take SNAP benefits and will be part of the Auburn University Double Up Bucks program, which gives eligible shoppers 50% off certain produce.
Villanueva puts the total cost at about $1 million. Neighbors chipped in the first $30,000 through small grassroots gifts starting in 2021, and the city of Birmingham added $150,000.
The cooperative traces its start to 2016 and now works 16 farm plots, with a goal of 119 plots by 2030. It employs three people in the market and five on the farm, and plans to turn its CSA program into a home delivery service called We All Eat Delivery.
After the opening, the market will keep six-day hours, starting at 7:30 each morning Tuesday through Saturday and at 10 on Sunday, with a 7 p.m. close every open day. Mondays are off.
Section: More Birmingham AL business news
Filed under: Birmingham AL Business News
