After the closure of Good Food Markets and Walgreens, Bellevue neighborhood commissioners encouraged constituents to support local businesses amid a growing food and pharmacy desert at the Feb. 23 Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting in Ward 8D.
The Good Food Markets located on South Capitol Street stopped selling produce and other groceries in November, one year after its opening, due to financial challenges. The grocery store’s café, which offered ready-to-eat options, remained open for a few months before also closing.
At the ANC meeting Thursday, Chairperson Wendy Hamilton updated attendees on her recent meeting with Philip Sambol, the executive director of the nonprofit behind Good Food Markets. Hamilton had inquired about the status and future of the grocery store that “came in with a lot of fanfare and went out quietly,” she said.
Sambol admitted to his financial difficulties and confirmed he would not be reopening the store.
Hamilton said Elmira Market or Market Fresh Grocer might expand into the space, but she worries that conversations about the future of the lot are occurring without the involvement of community members.
Good Food Markets was one of only four grocery stores east of the Anacostia River, an area considered already to be a food desert by D.C. Hunger Solutions’ Grocery Store Report.
To celebrate the grocery store’s opening in Nov. 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted that “we’re making good on a promise to deliver more grocery stores & food access points to neighborhoods east of the river.”
Hamilton expressed frustration over commitments that were not fulfilled.
“This resource that we were promised and that was so celebrated when it was established is gone,” she said.
The Walgreens on South Capitol Street also recently closed, leaving the district without a commercial pharmacy.
With the closing of Walgreens, 700 clients must find a new pharmacy, Commissioner Jacqueline Kinlow said at the ANC meeting.
Hamilton informed constituents of three local pharmacies capable of filling their prescriptions– Community of Hope, Excel Pharmacy and Bellevue Pharmacy.
Tamara McCants, head pharmacist at Bellevue pharmacy, attended the ANC meeting to share tips for seamlessly transferring prescriptions. She advised patients to bring prescription bottles from Walgreens to the new pharmacy for the most efficient transfer of medical information.
McCants said Bellevue Pharmacy is committed to making clients’ transition as smooth as possible. Pharmacists at Bellevue will help contact doctors and insurance companies, and they can organize patients’ regimens by putting medications into labeled blister packs with sealed compartments to be taken at specific times of the day, according to McCants.
“We are poised and positioned to be able to go that extra mile,” McCants said.
Bellevue also offers a free delivery service during business hours on Mondays through Fridays. McCants said pharmacists can deliver medications at the end of their shifts or extend delivery hours to Saturdays if requested.
“Even if there were twelve Walgreens down the street, I don’t see why we can’t support Bellevue [Pharmacy],” said commissioner Tara Brown.
In other news, the commissioners discussed their ongoing efforts to find office space for a return to in-person neighborhood meetings and promoted a Bellevue Business Roundtable on March 30 for new and seasoned business owners to network and learn of available grants.