More Options For Healthy Food At Lower Costs In Pullman

By Jacqueline Thomasson/Murrow News

A new natural market hopes to bring a modern twist to Pullman.

Grander Goods will offer bulk items that include gluten-free and vegan options, as well as a refillable container system to purchase them. 

“[It’s] something that you may be able to find somewhere else, like Moscow, but just not here quite yet,” said Grander Goods co-founder Avianna Hames. 

The market opened its doors on April 1st at 100 E. Main St. in Pullman. The space once housed Manny’s Coffee House and Café Moro. 

Customers will have three options for refillable containers, said co-founder CJ Robert. They can bring their own containers to reuse from home, buy one in-store, or use a loaner container that the founders and other community members have brought in such as cleaned out pickle jars. 

The bulk goods section gives customers the option to choose what container they put their items in by first getting the weight of the container

TikTok and other social media sites are flooded with organization videos of people discarding cardboard boxes in favor of reusable containers that will stay, Hames said. The refillable container policy will give people the opportunity to achieve those goals while also helping the environment. 

“It looks really fancy, but it’s not going to be stupidly high-end prices,” Robert said. “We’re not here to gouge college kids’ budgets.” 

Hames has a corn allergy and struggled while living in the Washington State University dorms to find foods and products that catered to her needs. 

She met other people with allergies in the area who also struggle with finding things they can eat or use. 

“Pullman has become this place that I really love, but it’s not as accommodating to people with allergies,” Hames said. 

Dinner parties with their friends usually mean labeled flags on every plate of food because of the different dietary needs they all have, Robert and Hames said. 

Options for those with dietary restrictions are limited, Robert said. If they can’t find it at Walmart or WinCo, they have to hope it’s at the Moscow Food Co-op – but even then, the drive makes it less accessible for some people who live in Pullman. 

“It’s not just about us, it’s about the community,” Hames said. 

A variety of herbs and spices sit on shelves behind the front counter, featuring their names as well as what they can be used for holistically

The location is more visible than others on Main Street in Pullman and could bring more attention and foot traffic to the downtown area, Hames said. 

Three other locations were heavily considered but fell through. Robert insisted they wait for the right location. 

Once open, Grander Goods hopes to be the anchor business that downtown is missing. The area has enough coffee shops and boutiques, Robert said. 

Robert, also the founder of Pups & Cups Cafe, said it will be similar to the coffee shop in that it will be a hybrid of multiple ideas. 

This is an entirely new concept for not only Pullman but about 50 miles, Robert said. 

“We’re trying to get to a point to where we can really create a more sustainable Pullman, to where it’s a walkable Pullman,” Robert said.  

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Jacqueline Thomasson is a journalism student at The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.