Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

A New Kind of Grocer Wants a Walkable, Bikeable Location

Lisa Sedlar, a veteran of big grocery stores like Whole Foods and Portland's New Seasons, is the owner of Green Zebra Grocery in Portland, Oregon -- a smaller store she thinks is better scaled to meet shifting demands.

false

Michael Andersen has the story at People for Bikes:

Many shoppers seemed to be shifting back to the habits of their grandparents and — if they could afford it — choosing to live near grocers so they could make small daily trips by foot or bike instead of big weekly ones by car.

So, after 10 years of thinking, Sedlar jumped. Next week, she launches the first location of Green Zebra, a 7,000-square-foot mini-grocer that includes a cook-from-scratch kitchen, fresh-cut meat, a massive salad bar, grab-and-go sandwiches and beer and wine on tap.

And active transportation is a key part of her vision, Andersen says.

If neighborhood shopping districts can ever become common again in the United States, they'll depend on businesses like this one. But the model can only succeed in bringing fresh food to new areas, Sedlar figures, if at least 30 percent of customers come in by foot, bike or public transit.

That's why Sedlar's first location has more on-site bike parking spaces (20) than car spaces (17). It's also why she's joined a group pushing to remove a lane of auto traffic on the road that goes past her shop, Lombard Street, to make room for a wide or protected bike lane, plus green bike boxes and better pedestrian crossings.

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Political Environment reports that Wisconsin is still dealing with the expensive legal fallout from Governor Scott Walker's decision to refuse federal passenger rail funds. The Bike League rounds up some local advocacy campaigns for the right to bring bikes on long-distance trains. And Systemic Failure carries a profile of the "roundabout capital of America," Carmel, Indiana.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Thursday’s Headlines: Tisch Comes Clean Edition

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch finally commented on her department's crackdown on cyclists. Plus more news.

May 15, 2025

Tisch Rap: NYPD Criminal E-bike Summonses Surge 4,000 Percent

The NYPD wrote twice as many criminal court summonses to e-bike riders in two weeks than it wrote all of last year — an astronomical increase that is a remnant of a repudiated racially biased police practice.

May 15, 2025

Quiet Desperation: NYPD’s Tisch Didn’t Tell DOT About Her Crackdown on Cycling

The NYPD commissioner did not inform her counterpart at the Department of Transportation that police would begin issuing criminal summonses to cyclists.

May 15, 2025

Not the Same Ol’ MTA: Cost of Upgrading Subway Signals is Cut in Half

A new design-build strategy, plus removing old signals fully, is credited for cutting costs in half. Take that, Sean Duffy.

May 15, 2025

Lander, Labor Activists Slam Cuomo After ‘Goliath’ DoorDash Gives $1M

The donation from the the app company is seen as a way of influencing a possible future mayor to side with the tech giant.

May 14, 2025
See all posts