A new grocery store called Carver Jones Market will be opening in Fairfield on July 31, led by a Black president and CEO.

The store will be directly across from Fairfield City Hall, at 4800 Gary Avenue in Fairfield.

“Carver Jones exists to serve the whole person — body, mind, spirit,” said James Harris, CEO and president of Carver Jones Market.

“‘More than a grocery store. A place to be fed.’ is more than a catchy slogan; it is a promise that we are making to this community. We believe that Carver Jones Market will be used to bring hope to suffering and to reveal the redemptive power that comes from truly engaging in the lives of others.”

Fairfield was picked as the location because of a lack of grocery stores in the area.

Harris has a vision for filling that void, said Greg Mixon, chairman of the board for Clerestory Inc., a non-profit that is supporting the effort.

“He’s been in the grocery business for more than 30 years and has really developed a heart for food deserts, especially folks that lack transportation, lacking access to fresh foods and basically being stuck with convenience stores and Dollar Generals in order to try to get food for their homes,” Mixon said.

“He wanted to provide access to fresh produce and meats.”

The store is also supported by a Fairfield church.

“Urban Hope Community Church in Fairfield has been heavily involved in getting this off the ground,” Mixon said. “The grocery store is actually right next door to the church. The church actually owns the building that the grocery store is renting.”

The store hopes to turn a profit, but needed financial support, which attracted Clerestory Inc. as an investor in the business.

“It’s a for-profit business, but one of the primary owners is a non-profit, because to get this first store up and running and show sustainability, it required people being generous and not necessarily looking to turn a profit,” Mixon said. “It’s a combined non-profit, for-profit effort.”

The concept, if it succeeds, could be duplicated elsewhere in other areas lacking fresh groceries.

“This is the first store that we’re doing in an effort to address this issue,” Mixon said.

The non-profit Clerestory Inc. has been in existence for 13 years and focuses on providing resources in areas lacking resources, Mixon said.

“It focuses on providing economic development in under-resourced areas and we’ve done it a variety of different ways: job training, job placement and financial literacy, but also promoting business concepts that otherwise might have a difficult time gaining a foothold.”