NEW ORGANIC MARKET
Friday, February 15
It may not be a household name in groceries, but Goodwin's Market has been a steady Inland presence since George Goodwin Sr. opened his first store serving the San Bernardino mountain communities in 1946.

Three more generations of Goodwins have continued to operate the family's three markets at Crestline, Lake Gregory and Running Springs. And recently, George Sr.'s grandson Martin Goodwin made the family's first foray into the increasingly popular realm of organic foods.

Goodwin's Organic Foods & Drinks opened quietly in early January on West Big Springs Road in Riverside, off Watkins Drive near the UC Riverside campus. The 10,000-square-foot store carries a full line of produce, dairy, meat and other food items, all certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its authorized agents.

Organics must meet strict requirements that no unnatural elements went into their production. For dairy and meat products, it means no growth hormones, antibiotics or other chemicals were fed to animals used in the process.

Martin Goodwin, 62, said he opened the store to serve a neighborhood that hasn't had an all-purpose grocery market since a nearby Ralphs closed at Watkins Drive and Blaine Street a few years ago. But it's no coincidence that the store is also just blocks from a large cluster of dorms at UC Riverside.

"The leading edge of this is the younger people," Goodwin said. "They know a lot about organics, and they want healthy things in their lives."

Kurt Miller / The Press-Enterprise

Mary Goodwin sorts bouquets of flowers at Goodwin's Organic Foods & Drinks on Valentine's Day. The family-owned market, which opened in January, carries certified organic meat, dairy, produce -- much of which is locally grown -- and other products.

The store was developed and built over the course of four years, and Goodwin said about two years went into researching and lining up certified suppliers from throughout California and other states.

Much of the produce is grown locally, including oranges from Riverside and vegetables from the Coachella Valley. Baby foods, milk, chicken and beef, as well as the sushi at the store's deli counter, are all certified organic. Pizzas are baked from scratch with organic ingredients, and soups, salads, juices and smoothies are made fresh with items from the store's shelves.

The store also has a street-level patio for outdoor dining, and those who sign up for a membership card -- at $25 a year -- have access to an upstairs coffee and study lounge with free Wi-Fi access, as well as an upstairs outdoor patio with hook-ups for laptops.

"It's meant to be a very social atmosphere," Goodwin said.

Membership also gives customers a 10 percent discount on all purchases, which Goodwin said puts his prices in line with the offerings of chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. The store's checkout technology figures in added discounts based on customers' frequent past purchases.


Kurt Miller/The Press-Enterprise

The Goodwin family has operated markets in San Bernardino mountain cities since George Goodwin Sr. opened a store in 1946. His grandson, Martin, just opened this organic market in Riverside.
Experts note that organics remain a relative niche segment of the grocery industry, even as supermarket chains increase their selection. But their popularity is rising amid heightened concerns about health, the environment and food safety.

"Especially when there are food scares, people get really concerned about what's in their food," said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst at market research firm Mintel International in Chicago.

Depending on the food category, organic items often sell at a 20 to 30 percent price premium compared with mainstream products. But Mogelonsky said recent studies have found consumers especially willing to pay the higher cost if the food will be consumed by children, making baby food, milk and cereals among the most popular organic items.

A recent national survey by Mintel found that 52 percent of Americans purchased organic foods in the past year, up from 34 percent in 2002. Mintel estimates that national sales of organics, not including those sold at Wal-Mart and warehouse stores, are currently about $5.7 billion annually, and that figure is expected to rise 59 percent by 2012.

Goodwin's offers party and office catering and also plans to conduct organic cooking classes.

Goodwin said his lunch and dinner traffic has been steady, but admits things are quiet outside of meal times.

"We purposefully haven't advertised or publicized the place so far, because we wanted to make sure everything was set up right," he said.

Riverside resident Elisa McLaurin, who has lived in the neighborhood for the past seven years, said the store felt surprisingly hushed during her recent visits, but she's generally pleased with the offerings.

"The prices are pretty good for what it is, and they do have some things they don't have at other stores," McLaurin said. "And it's good to see a grocery store around here again."

By Lou Hirsh

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