Another casualty on Windsor’s Town Green, Green Grocer, will close Sept. 30.
Little more than a year old, the combination high-end deli and farm-market store started out as an experiment in local eating, using mostly local products nearby farms and ranches. A young husband-and-wife chef team, Joe and Susanna Rueter had big hopes for the space but have ultimately had to scale back as revenue declined by more than 50% over the last six months, according to The Windsor Times.
When I talked to Joe yesterday (Susanna now works at Cyrus), he seemed almost relieved at not having to juggle the constant loss at the store with his flourishing catering business. He has successful contracted with several wineries, including like-minded Quivira Winery. The couple have also created a line of premium jams and condiments using local fruits.
But Joe mostly says he looks forward to spending a little more time with his family.
It’s a sad loss, especially considering other recent closures in Windsor include Odyssey, Taj Indian and Gilardi’s Deli along with the soon-to-shutter Langley’s on the Green. BiteClub recently reported that Restaurant Mirepoix plans to take over the Langley’s space.
I was not surprised when I heard this. I think customer service goes a long way. If the people working at the store did not make you feel appreciated, then why would you go back. Everytime I shop somewhere that has poor customer service, soon after they are in trouble. This should be a forsight of what is to come if others don’t improve there service. Now is a time you need to hold onto the customers you have.
I own the new toy store on the Windsor town green (Kaleidoscope Toys) and business is good. Windsor locals have given us great support and we make a point to tell every customer that we value and appreciate their business. Thanking people for their business is very important. Poeple need to feel that you do not take them for granted. Customers also come in from Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Larkfield, Forestville, etc… all of them love coming to Windsor. Everyone tells me they love the way the town green looks and feels.
I see alot of customers from the World Mark Resort by the Windsor Golf coarse, these folks come from all over the country…. they all tell me how much they love our town green and the surrounding Sonoma County wine country. For me Windsor is paradise….
Flies landing on the meat??? Grrrroossss! I would walk out and never go back. I’m not surprised they closed if the place was like that.
But on a related note: the Town Green has no soul; it looks like a shopping center for the Stepford Wives.
I totally agree with “whyblamewindsor”. We support all of the local businesses, including GG. But GG did not provide us with the goods we needed. The meat in the counter was browning and looked old, and flies were landing on the meat. YUCK! I pointed it out once, nicely, and the found nothing changed over time. There are several times I went in for bread only to be told the “bread-guy” didn’t deliver today.
Over time the owners move out the food for sale and moved in the tables, turning the place into a quasi-restaurant. Really, we just needed a decent little store where we could buy some local produce and organic meat. Our family and neighbors travel out of Windsor to get these products – trust me – if we could get them on the green, we would!!
Indeed a loss, but was trying to be too many things, price disparity on some things.
Downtown Windsor businesses MUST draw people from nearby Healdsburg and Santa Rosa, or won’t make it.
Downtown Windsor Signage and awareness is a big problem….if GG hadn’t been on Facebook, I would have never known the existed, and I go to Windsor regularly. You had NO CLUE GG was there, unless you just happened to be in that rear are for something else.
We will miss the fantastic sandwiches and the casual atmosphere of the Green Grocer. It was nice to have a place to eat where our daughter could run around and play and we could still get a delicious meal. Thanks for giving Windsor a run, Joe. We will use your catering skills in the future.
Windsor Town Green is a travesty.
I am sad to hear the news that the Green Grocer is closing. My experiences there have all been good, and the service has been better than perfect.
It’s because Poor Man’s Flat isn’t a real town – it’s just trying awkwardly hard to be.
I think that it is important to take into consideration their location because it was in the absolute worst part of the Town Green. In fact, it was nowhere near the actual “green”, which I think could be a major contributing factor. If you are invisible to all major traffic, you can’t hope to survive on the patronage of the smattering of condo owners that you are visible to. They were there for months before I even knew they existed, and I walk my dog at the Town Green several times a week. Perhaps they would have had a better chance of surviving if they had been on the main part of the Town Green or at the very least facing a street with traffic.
I don’t honestly think its fair to point a finger totally at one side or the other. The PD has reported on some of the issues that have plagued the Town Green, but in talking to Joe, he also said that they had many great local customers that really supported the business.
Odyssey pointed the finger squarely at the locals. Joe actually didn’t do that at all when we spoke. I think he felt that there was support, but just not enough.
It is true that some of the failed businesses have stumbled with customer service and practical business models as well.
You have to have both to work.
I’m tired of hearing that the people of Windsor would rather shop at Walmart and don’t have the cultural sense to appreciate a place like the Green Grocer. Do the business owners get to take any fault in this? Could it be that some people didn’t want to spend $10 for a sandwich during a time when people are trying to keep a roof over their heads?
I used to patron it all the time but in the last 6 months service was horrible! I bought MANY items there just to bring the milk home and see it expired last week or look at the receipt to find I was charged twice for something.
I think a lot of their downfall may have also been their location. Where they were on the green did not allow much foot traffic.
I too will miss their breakfast burritos, but sadly am not surprised by this turn of events.
I’m tired of hearing that the people of Windsor would rather shop at Walmart and don’t have the cultural sense to appreciate a place like the Green Grocer. Do the business owners get to take any fault in this? Could it be that some people didn’t want to spend $10 for a sandwich during a time when people are trying to keep a roof over their heads?
I used to patron it all the time but in the last 6 months service was horrible! I bought MANY items there just to bring the milk home and see it expired last week or look at the receipt to find I was charged twice for something.
I think a lot of their downfall may have also been their location. Where they were on the green did not allow much foot traffic.
I too will miss their breakfast burritos, but sadly am not surprised by this turn of events.
Very sad.
I completely agree with “whyblamewindsor.” What can we expect from a lacking business plan, poor management and follow through. Potential business owners need to research their ideas and make sure implementation is equally strong. Rent downtown isn’t cheap; owners will need solid loans and a thorough bus. plan to tread water.
Businesses with good ideas, decent prices and excellent customer service are staying open. My husband and I shop and eat locally regularly. We want to put money back into our own town, support small/local business, but have to draw the line when prices outway logic.
Unfortunately, the people of Windsor have shown over and over that they would rather shop at the local WalMart than support a locally owned business. The Green Grocer should have opened in Healdsburg. Just look at how successful Big John’s and Sheldon’s have been in that town.
Windsor is a bedroom community with residents who don’t know how to think outside the big-box. They have a WalMart strip mall, a Safeway strip mall, and a cookie cutter “town green” where locally owned businesses should thrive but don’t. They can’t even handle a head shop! Soon they will be just another Rohnert Park. Sad.
I was so excited when the green groc. opened that there was going to be a shop here that supported my views about food sourcing. I wish they had done well here, but the problem isn’t with Windsor. The staff was totally untrained (not their fault). Items for sale had either no signs or no price tags or both. I never knew what I was going to be charged for items I repeatedly purchased and often had to point out to the checker that a price was wrong or tell them what I thought something should cost because they had no idea. I would wait 45 minutes for a sandwich only to discover that it was not what I ordered. The final problem I had with the shop was the smell. You couldn’t walk in for more than a few minutes without reeking of cooking smells for the rest of the day.
My point is that I see a lot of businesses blaming Windsor for their problems when in fact it’s bad business management that puts them under. You need a solid product, well trained staff, good prices and great customer service. Businesses that have those things do well anywhere.Kaleidoscope Toys is doing so well that they are expanding to Santa Rosa. Perhaps the Press Demo could dig a little deeper into the reasons why some businesses don’t do well in Windsor. It may be the types of people who choose to open businesses here, not the community itself. We all seem to try very hard to promote local shops and restaurants, but how many bad ones are we supposed to continue to give our money to? The hard fact is that the businesses that have failed here since have lito face is that the businesses that have failed since I have lived here deserved to fail.
Before I got into the kitchen I worked for a business on the town green. Its a pretty poorly planned development, can’t honestly say I’m surprised to hear of another casualty of that moneypit.
Great fish tacos, salads, meats, etc. I liked being able to run by and grab a few nice cheeses and odds and ends for lunches, dinners or whenever.
very sad indeed. you will be missed
So very sorry to hear of Green Grocer closing.
We will miss your wonderful breakfast burritos and the opportunity of buying organic and local products from you.
Good luck to you.
Too bad. They had creative dishes and a lot of enthusiasm for cooking with fresh ingredients. Their grilled calamari and the dark chocolate torte were exceptional. It’s pretty clear that in this economy, a small niche restaurant can’t just rely on positive word of mouth. I had never heard of this place until I accidentally ran across their food at an event.
Did you know Blazing Saddles BBQ closed in Santa Rosa??? Sad, very very sad. They had the BEST onion rings in TOWN!!!!!!
Windsor is a very tough town to do business in. My husband and I own a restaurant there and the last 10 months have been very difficult. I wish the Rueter’s good luck in all of their future endeavors.