CO-OWNERS — Gregory Demary, left, and Marc Barnes stand in the Steubenville Grocery Box’s new location at 173 N. Fourth St., where they are co-owners with their wives. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — Known as one of many food deserts, Steubenville has been identified by the Department of Agriculture as an area where residents have low access to healthy and affordable food.

A new business location on North Fourth Street is working to end that.

The Steubenville Grocery Box, located at 173 N. Fourth St., is the latest addition to Steubenville’s business district. Occupying the former Ed McCauslen’s Florist building, the store offers locally sourced wares — produce, baked goods, candles, teas and much more — with the additional aim of being economical for customers.

The Grocery Box started two years ago as an online marketplace for local farmers to sell their products. Co-owner Gregory Demary said the idea sprouted from a desire to support local farmers and food producers, thereby aiding the local economy.

Shoppers could browse the grocery box website, steubenvillegrocerybox.com, and place an order for pickup each Saturday at the College of St. Joseph the Worker building. Demary said feedback on the service was positive, but demand increased for a physical location that customers could stop in at any time of the week.

LOCAL — Gregory Demary, Steubenville Grocery Box co-owner, sells locally sourced honey to Joan Pritts of Wintersville. -- Christopher Dacanay

Opening its doors at the beginning of the month, the grocery box’s brick-and-mortar location is currently open Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

“This gives a lot more flexibility to customers to be able to stop in and get whatever they need,” said Demary.

Individuals can browse the store’s new shelves — courtesy of Phillip Veiga of Sparrowwood LLC — and pick out locally sourced raw honey, roasted coffee beans, jellies and jams, fresh-baked bread and all-purpose soap. Demary said the farthest local vendor is about 45 minutes away.

Demary said the store strives to source products as locally as possible. Products that it can’t find locally, the store offers as low-cost options to suit the family needs of individuals. Products include pasta, flour, oil, vinegar, tortillas, rice, nuts, milk, butter, sour cream, cheese and sugar.

“If customers come in and don’t see what they want … we’ll make a point to put it there,” Demary added.

The online grocery box will continue to operate, Demary said, though Saturday pickups will be done from 10 a.m. to noon at the new location. Order dates run each week from Monday through Thursday.

Near future hopes for the store include obtaining a license to sell local beer and wine. Further, the store is awaiting approval of its application to keep and sell frozen meats in the store.

Visiting the store on Dec. 9 was Karissa Jaloway, with her children, Quinn, 6; Lucia, 4, and Claire, 1. A customer since the store’s online-only days, Jaloway said the store’s products are “amazing” and “very good quality.”

Jacob Imam — joined by his sons Blaise, 3, and Leo, 1 — said it is great to see the expansion of the store, which has a “genius model.” Also a customer since the store’s early stages, Imam said the store’s prices are the same, if not better, than a nearby chain grocery store.

Nick Rodriguez and his grandson, Kaden Brooks, stopped in the store for the first time. From Richmond, Rodriguez said he and his wife love to support local farmers, so this store is perfect for them — frequent Fourth Street shoppers.

“Fourth Street alone is like how it used to be when I was younger. Now it’s back,” Rodriguez said.

Customers Ron and Joan Pritts of Wintersville like to support local farmers, so they were excited to see this store and its “unique things to purchase,” the latter said.

Demary, an agent for Cedar One Realty, is a co-owner with Harmonium Project President Marc Barnes and their wives, Emily Demary and Maura Barnes. Though both men are transplants to Steubenville, Demary said, both see the grocery box as a way to invest in the city they love and to “do what we can to improve it in our own way.”

Referencing Steubenville’s food desert classification, Barnes said, “The thing we’re doing is trying to fill a need. … If you don’t have a car, you can’t reasonably obtain fresh groceries.”

Barnes said he has seen firsthand the consequences of the downtown food desert, seeing loved ones die from unhealthy diets. Circumstances are worsened by the two-bag limit on public transit, Barnes said, which incentivizes people receiving benefits to get their food from gas stations.

In response, the grocery box would aim to be an “oasis in a food desert,” Barnes said, noting that the store is seeking approval to accept SNAP benefits.

Another need the store seeks to fill is providing a way for farmers to sell their produce, Barnes said. The market for famers is increasing, he said, with more homesteaders moving to Jefferson County, spurred on by efforts from the Healing Land, a Steubenville-based homesteading workshop nonprofit. Among the store’s current source locations are Toronto, Cadiz and Bloomingdale.

“We want (the store) to be a place where people who are growing food can sell food,” Barnes said.

Barnes himself was able to manufacture a meal on Dec. 5 using only ingredients bought from the grocery box. Barnes said the meal — carbonara with bacon and duck eggs, with a side salad — is a testament to the store’s variety of options for meals, adding, “If I can do it, anyone can do it.”

Demary said any farmers or food makers who are interested in selling their products at the store can e-mail steubenvillegrocerybox@gmail.com to determine if the products would be a good fit. Also, he said, if customers know of local alternatives for currently stocked products, they should reach out as well.

Though Ed McCauslen’s Florist in Steubenville — noted as one of the oldest businesses in Ohio — closed up shop for good on Nov. 30, Demary said he hopes the grocery box can preserve its legacy by keeping the building filled with life and business.

“We’re excited to be down here and part of the revitalization efforts and hopefully fulfill a need while doing that,” Demary said.