JEANERETTE, La. — The town of Jeanerette has been living as a food desert since their grocery store burned down in 2022, but one local couple has stepped up to make a difference.
On Saturday morning, two Jeanerette residents held the grand opening of their new mini grocery store, 3 Gs Good Guy's Grocery Store.
"We decided to open it because we see the need of our community, so basically, like, as of right now, we're going to be the only, like, the only mini grocery store, like, with fresh produce," said Javashia Martin, co-owner of 3 Gs Good Guy's Grocery Store.
In June of 2022, Mac's Sugar City Market, the only grocery store in Jeanerette, was damaged and closed until further notice due to a fire, leaving the town a fresh food desert.
Now, more than a year and a half later, the market has not yet reopened, and Jeanerette residents have had to travel to nearby cities for fresh groceries.
"This is very important for people in this are not to have to travel 20 miles west or 20 miles east to go get groceries, so this is very important for the city of Jeanerette," said Kendrick Martin, president of the Greater Southwest Louisiana Black Chamber of Commerce.
Three Gs is a mini grocery store, more similar to the size of a convenience store, but the difference is what the store offers.
"We do have a few fresh produce, as of right now," Javashia said. Over time—over the next three weeks, we will even have meat. we have fresh plate lunches every day, if they want to come in and get dinner. We'll have ready-to-go meals, desserts, canned goods, rice and basically your everyday needs."
The store is even offering a credit option for those with fixed income and delivery for elderly customers.
"Say you don't have a car, you can call in once a week, and we'll deliver to the elderly to make sure they get their groceries, and we will also be offering—if you're on a fixed income, we will have credit," Javashia said. "You can come in, you can get groceries, and you can pay back later, or you can pay your balance, like, in installments. Long as you have proof that you are on a fixed income, we are here to help."
The store and its owners have gained the support of the community.
"With the opening of an entity like 3 Gs, here, we certainly want to support those young business people that are coming through to open up businesses and support Jeanerette and bringing forth items that aren't available at this time, so it's certainly a very significant thing to happen for our community, absolutely," said Mayor Carol Bourgeois, Jr. of Jeanerette.
This couple decided it was time this food desert got fed.
The store is located at 1720 Martin Luther King Dr. in Jeanerette.
