Downtown Pottsville grocery store to alleviate food desert

POTTSVILLE — When Giant closed its supermarket in July 2020, residents of the city’s downtown were left without access to groceries and fresh food.

The Rite Aid pharmacy on South Centre Street partially filled the vacuum with frozen foods and staples like breakfast cereal, but it closed last September — effectively making downtown Pottsville a food desert.

In a dramatic turnaround, owners of a South Manheim Twp. farm recently announced plans to open a grocery store at 113 E. Norwegian St., a prime downtown location.

Josiah and Angela Meck, owners of Honey Brook Farm, plan to open the store in a former First Federal Savings & Loan building a half-block off Centre Street in October.

“There’s nothing like it in Pottsville,” Angela Meck said Monday. “There is certainly a need to have a grocery store downtown.”

The Mecks said they have an agreement of sale on the property, a two-story structure with ample parking, built in 1968. Closing on the property is scheduled for May 24, they said.

Mayor Dave Clews could hardly contain his excitement at the prospect of a grocery store opening downtown.

“It solves a problem; people downtown will be able to get fresh food and vegetables,” the mayor said. “The Mecks are great people and hard workers.”

The Farm Store, the Mecks said, will occupy the first floor of the former bank building, a 2,400-square-foot space. They have yet to decide what to do with the second floor, a 1,900-square-foot office space.

The store will stock Honey Brook Farm’s grass-fed beef, pork and chicken. The farm also raises turkey, geese and ducks for market.

It will also carry an array of produce, cheese and eggs from a network of 40 independent farms in Schuylkill, Berks and Lehigh counties.

“The priority,” Angela Meck said, “will be on locally produced goods.”

Honey Brook Farms supplies meats to Healthy Habits Natural Market near Orwigsburg and Sunny Cupboard natural and specialty foods near Schuylkill Haven. It also participates in open markets in Pottsville, Orwigsburg and the Lehigh Valley.

The initial response to the Pottsville store has been overwhelming, the Mecks say.

A recent post on Facebook drew 1,200 followers in four days. The site has drawn 30,000 views, they said.

The Mecks are both Penn State University graduates.

Josiah, 30, graduated in 2011 with a degree in agriculture. Angela, 34, graduated in 2012 with degrees in civil and mining engineering.

They had lived in Arizona, but returned in 2020 to occupy a 100-acre farm founded in 1910 by Angela’s ancestors.

“We’re the first ones to farm it since the 1950s,” said Angela, a fifth-generation occupant.

During the pandemic, the Mecks said, the farm prospered because of bare shelves on some local markets due to supply chain problems.

They had talked about opening their own market for several years. Discussions with Clews and Pottsville Area Redevelopment Corp. led to their decision to open the store along East Norwegian St., they said.

“We decided to take the leap and fill the gap in Pottsville,” Angela said.

The location is ideal for a grocery store, the Mecks said. There are parking lots on both sides of the building.

The first floor, which still has teller booths and two vaults, will have to be renovated to accommodate grocery shelves, refrigerators and freezers.

The Mecks said they will hire employees to manage and staff the store. They already have talked to prospective employees.

Supplying a store, in addition to existing customers and open markets, will require an increase in production on the farm, Josiah said.

With three children and one on the way, a farm to operate and a grocery store in the offing, the Mecks are busy people. Angela also works part time at an engineering firm.

Still, they’re upbeat and eager to embrace the challenge of opening a new business.

“We have a lot of things on our plate,” Angela acknowledged. “Everything we do has to have some flexibility.”