A new store in Cleveland
By Angela Rogalski
The Bolivar Bullet
Next door to Airport Grocery you can now shop at a new grocery store that is offering a selection of meats and seafood. Vance’s Meat & Grocery opened its doors on July 15, and owner Seth Vance says that providing good quality cuts of meat and a wide variety of seafood was his goal when he decided to open the business.
“I started thinking about this a year ago,” said Vance. “My lifelong friend, Victor Miller, who lived in Jackson, moved back to partner with me on this, so the two of us are in it together. I love good food, so it made perfect sense. And, I had worked with my father at Airport Grocery for years. So, providing people with great cuts of quality meat and seafood was something that I really felt a need to do. Giving them a wide selection of other specialty products fell into that desire too.”
The store is stocked and ready to go for shoppers, Vance said, with more products coming in regularly.
“We really have a little bit of everything,” he added. “Beef, pork, chicken, and a lot of different seafood, such as scallops, oysters, tuna, and salmon. In the near future, I’ll be getting some different types of fish like grouper and mahi-mahi. We’ll also run different specials as we go along. I do have a small selection of produce right now. I’m selling a huge variety of BBQ sauces and specialty seasonings, salad dressings that you can’t find at other grocery stores.”
While Vance’s sells items that many mainstream grocery stores don’t carry, he does sell the more widely-known products as well.
“I just wanted to give customers a wider variety of items, along with better cuts of meat for their selection.”
Vance said he and his father are very close and working at the restaurant gave him the incentive to start his own business.
“I’ve worked with my dad a lot, especially since the pandemic began, and I’ve learned a lot about business from him. But, now the majority of my time will be spent in the grocery store and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Customer service and convenience for the consumer are two things Vance said his business will focus on.
“Convenience is really important to me. Our store is small and it’s easy to get in and get out. We have a large selection of locally-sourced products too and we want to give the best customer service possible. Those things are vital to our mission with this.”