Fans of Fond now have another reason to celebrate: Amy Zupanci, the chef and owner of that acclaimed Edwardsville restaurant, just launched Township Grocer, an adjoining grocery store.
The new venture, at 102 N. Main St., expands Zupanci’s devotion to locally grown, seasonal foodstuff, noted Fond maitre d’ Stephen Cox, who helped her open Township Grocer. “It serves as an extension of Fond’s pantry, so the products that we offer over there, we carry over here,” he said. “And it also launches Fond’s retail line. We have 27 products that are made in Fond’s kitchen and canned or packaged and sold as retail items.”
Township Grocer hopes to price itself between a gourmet grocery and a discount grocery, noted Cox. “We’ve kept the inventory as kind of a short list of just absolute pantry necessities to create the perfect pantry, ideally,” he said. “Essentially, it carries through the philosophy of taking convenience products out in order to encourage people to do more cooking at home and trying to get those products in their hands in the most convenient and affordable and accessible way possible.”
Township Grocer’s hours run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
This article appears in May 1-31, 2010.