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Since originally opening in Columbus in September 2021, Old Town Provisions has made a name for itself for being a full-service grocery store dedicated to providing fresh, locally made products.

To get the project started, owner Jason Breaux teamed up with DASH LaGrange to bring something a little different to the Hillside area. The new store will be the second location, following the first in Columbus.

“When they took me around the area, it seemed like there was actually a need for something like what we do in the area. What we have is a bit different,” Breaux said. “I opened this business to show people that with a small business you can get a better product, better customer service.”

Old Town Provisions is one of the new four stores coming to Hillside in approximately late November.

According to Breaux, Old Town Provisions is a specialty grocery market. At its current location, it sells everything from organic, vegan, gluten-free, baked goods, along with regular products customers could find at a Walmart or Kroger.

Breaux said customers can expect to pay for quality over quantity.

“We’re not a Walmart. I don’t order a million pounds of beef every week, but the beef that you get from me will never have a brown spot on it. It’s always going to be fresh.

“We have things that you don’t normally see at the grocery store, but we try to do things a little different and bring a more personalized type of service to the community.”

The store will sale localized products like cheese, sauces, fruit, vegetables, and more, according to Breaux. While most of the product sold will come from local vendors, some products like seafood will come fresh from New England.

In the history of their first location, Old Town Provisions had a partnership with Food Meal. The company specializes in healthy eating and provided the store with products like salmon bowls, Fiesta Bowls, grilled chicken, peppers and onions, black beans and wild rice. At the time of writing, Breaux was unsure of that partnership will continue in the LaGrange area.

However, Breaux said he was open to getting to know other small businesses in town, to form some working relationships.

“I think you have to be able to partner with people and use someone else’s expertise and showcase other smaller business because that’s what a lot of our products are, they’re not from the mega corporations,” he said. “We’re a small, homegrown businesses, that creates better products because they actually have a passion for the product, not just trying to make a dollar.”

The store has had some comparisons to chains like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. However, he said there’s still a major difference in dealing with a small business like Old Town Provisions.

“When you deal with them, you’re still dealing with a corporation. Whereas if you’re dealing with us, you’re dealing usually with me,” he said. “If something’s wrong, we personally fix it and take care of everything.”

According to Breaux, communities can’t rely solely on major corporations for all their nutritional needs. Small business like his see their customers as people rather than a dollar sign.

“The money that is spent in my store goes back into the community. Supporting a small business is one of the most important things, especially when a Walmart comes in,” Breaux said. “To them you’ll just be another customer, with a small business, people will care more and the quality of the product is better.”