The Outstater

July 31, 2026

Our Government Grocery Store

WE DON’T UNDERSTAND the concern over New York City’s government grocery stores. It is said they are economically impossible, that is, you cannot price groceries at a 30 percent discount and somehow manage the 1-3 percent profit margins that characterize the industry.

But we have our own government grocery store in little Fort Wayne, Indiana, “the Pontiac Street Market.” The city helps oversee the $3.4 million project in a public-private partnership with a local nonprofit, all governed by a carefully selected, much-commended and diversity-minded board of directors.

The manager, LaQueisha Brown, says things are going great. There is no shoplifting or employee theft. The parking lot is safe even in one of the highest crime areas of the city. And it is making money hand over fist in what otherwise would be a food “desert” shunned by racist developers. The media have been fawning in their praise. They have seen the future and it works.

No, wait. We don’t know any of that for sure. In fact, in two years of asking we have been unable to get an independent fiscal report on the grocery’s operations despite notes to city officials and calls to our city councilman. 

Hmmm. — tcl

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