Rocky’s Market – Brady Bellis
#019 – Today we talk to Brady Bellis from Oakland’s Rocky’s Market. The original store is located in the Oakmore neighborhood (440 Leimert Blvd, Oakland). Rocky’s is more than a local independent grocery store, it is a community fixture.
“when somebody comes in and you call them by name and you know what they want, and it’s a little bit like being a bartender. I’ve been the first person that people have spoken to after a relative dies, or a spouse, or, you know, the first person to say, I just got engaged. Because I’m semi-anonymous in that I’m not part of their lives, but they know me and we know each other. I’ve had some relationships with customers that even though it doesn’t go any further than just the walls of the store, I really value.”
Brady and his Oakland native partner Corinne Kinczel bought the Oakmore store in 2016 from the original owner, Rocky, who tried to rescue the store from a series of unsuccessful ownerships. They opened a 2nd store in the new Brooklyn Basin development (288 9th Avenue, Oakland) at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020. Brady credits Corrine’s Oakland roots for the company’s success.
“Corrine is a native Oakland person and she’s lived here basically her whole life and she’s very dialed into the community and so she was the one who had the vision of making it more than just a grocery store”.
The pandemic boosted their business by about 50% overnight and for a while they were running at 250%. It leveled off, however, but today they are performing beyond their pre-pandemic levels. They used safety protocols as a competitive advantage.
Be sure to listen to the whole interview to hear how Brady and Corrine’s first date set them on this entrepreneurial course.
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