Blog
What’s Up With Boxcar
We keep getting asked, what is going on with Boxcar Grocer? And the honest, straight-up answer is, it’s on pause.
The store in..
New Urbanism + Food
Over the last ten years, the American population has been fed a version of new urbanism that re-imagines suburban sprawl replaced by..
What It Takes To Fly
Last Monday, we hosted a party at the store. A lot of people saw it as a closing party, we saw it as a coming of age party. Either way,..
A Word or Two About Money
“The quality of freedom is remarkable; if freedom exists at all, nothing can limit it.” M.
We don’t speak enough about money. People..
What Can You Do To Help?
Imagine if someone told you to make an iPhone out of a rotary dial phone. Or better yet, imagine if someone expected you to make a Kindle..
On Food and Freedom
“Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard.” -Standing Bear
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”..
What Do We Do All Day?
I wish we had the luxury of just running a store. Being able to focus on our business that exists inside four walls on a street near..
Freedom Matters
Freedom is a recurring theme in this city. It rings from monuments and street names and encourages travel from near and far. It was heard..
New Subsidy Models Necessary for Growth of Local Economies
We had the opportunity to attend the BALLE Conference in Oakland, CA last week. After years of attending food conferences and not finding..
The Food Landscape
‘When children learn to count they naturally add and multiply. Subtraction and division are harder to teach them, perhaps because..
6 Reasons Why Selling Organic in a Food Desert is Like Being in a Seth MacFarlane Film
The Boxcar Grocer has been operating now in Atlanta for a little over two years. The amount of experiential information and behavioral..
Advisory Alert
With little remorse I admit, I am not a fan of winter. Humidity and heat are my friends. When the mercury reaches the triple digits I hit..
Mandela: A Force for Change
Change is a concept that both fascinates us and terrifies us. We resist it within our own lives with a force and tenacity that keeps us..
Reflections
Every so often there comes a time to reflect: to re-establish purpose, to correct course, so to speak. As we approach our second year..
Beyond Reason
When was the last time anger or fear provided anything uplifting or useful for a community?
Some say the walls of institutionalized..
Trading Places
Have you noticed the extreme changes we’ve made over the last two weeks: smaller store, consolidated selling area, more intimate..
Welcome to the Kollective!
The Boxcar Grocer will be undergoing some serious changes over the next week and a half. We will be closed throughout the entire July 4th..
Only Good Lay Before You
The detox taught me to be much more mindful about my body as a system. And although I’ve had the training before, there is something about detoxification that can reset your entire life. In the end I dropped about about 5 pounds, toned my muscles, and my skin looked radiant. My mind felt clear, I was able to do my job better and communicate more effectively with the people around me.
Who Needs a Loser to Win?
When we were little our parents encouraged us to read by giving us money for each book we completed. Fiction earned us $1.00 per book...
Boxcar Goes Tech
After five fast-paced days in Austin, Texas spending time with some of the most innovative people in business, I’ve returned to Atlanta..
An Honest Look at Health
Our parents were very open with us. Although we were taught respect and when to stay out of grown folks’ business, at our own dinner..
Grow Our Children, Donate Time
As a commercial landowner we are ambivalent about the effectiveness of the property taxes we pay each year to Fulton County and City of..
Gettin Dignified!
Within this culture, I hear people talking about dying with dignity. I seldom hear people passionately talk about living with dignity...
Health Begins at Home
One of the greatest gifts our mom and dad gave us was a useful model for health. It wasn’t through pointing a finger in our face and..
Calm in the Community
We are ushering in a new era. One that is more about balance and harmony. We are moving beyond the old way of doing things. We are each..
Our Future in Food
In the coming weeks you will notice a lot of changes around here. We have been taking stock, making sense of all the we have learned over..
Equilibration
What can we say? It’s been almost a year since we had our soft opening and Boxcar is still chugging along. It’s an amazing place to be...
Why Mobile is Not Enough
A couple weeks ago I dropped my cell phone. This is a common occurrence that happens daily rendering what was once a very useful,..
An Open Letter to All Who Want to Talk About Food Access
Misunderstandings. They are very often part of how we communicate as human beings. They are definitely part of our verbal and..
We Are All in This Boat
I rowed novice crew my first year in college. Before I arrived at the intro session, I had never even seen a rowing shell up close. Prior..
Hot Mess to Hot-ness!
It is not often that a day goes by when someone asks us what the space here at 249 Peters Street looked like before we moved in. The..
A Father’s Day Tribute to Al Cross
The most exquisite gifts our dad ever gave us were access to quality educations and safe places to live. These gifts live on beyond his..
Healthy Food Project
Lots of minds are busy at work trying to find solutions to food access across the US. It’s always interesting to see what students are..
Bikes and the City
I just got back from a very fun weekend in New York City. My 15-year college reunion took place over the course of three days at Barnard..
Might be a Circus But…
What we are doing is not magic. It might seem like it sometimes, but it is only in relation to the lack of faith and commitment that many..
New Summer Hours: Su (closed), M (12p-6p), T-Fri (9a-8p)
This is Rufus. He is our dog. Well, technically, he is Alphonzo’s dog. But now that we’re in business together there are a number of..
Rabbit Hole
Ten years ago if you had told me that I would be minding my own corner store, I would have laughed. If anything, perhaps I could have..
The Soulful Self
So it turns out that starting your own business sucks up a lot of your social life, family life, and any other type of life you might..
Barriers to Entry
Getting food into neighborhoods is a tricky affair. Multiple reasons exist that prevent small grocers from opening up and from succeeding..