Downtown Tulsa is getting its first full-service grocery store in more than a decade. Oasis Fresh Market opens Monday at 119 E. Sixth St., filling a space that has sat without a real grocery option since the last one closed its doors years ago.
The new store is scheduled to open Monday, Sept. 21, according to News On 6. It sits on the ground floor of the ARCO apartment building near Sixth Street and Cincinnati Avenue, occupying roughly 14,000 square feet, according to journalrecord.com. Aaron “AJ” Johnson, the founder and owner of Oasis Fresh Market, said downtown Tulsa had gone more than a decade without a full-service grocery store, and that downtown residents and workers had been waiting for it, per the station's report.
That wait has a documented history. Downtown Tulsa had been without a full-service grocery store since Folks Urban Market closed in 2014 after just seven months in operation, the outlet reports. Before that, Oklahoma City-based Homeland shuttered its downtown location back in 2002, meaning the neighborhood has largely gone without a full grocery option since the early 2000s.
What's on the Shelves
Shoppers can expect fresh produce, meats, everyday groceries and prepared meals, along with a fresh food bar, salads, sushi, salmon and hot entrées, per the same account. The store will also carry Simple Simon's Pizza and offer catering for local businesses. Grocery delivery through Instacart and UberEats is planned as well, rounding out the convenience options for downtown workers and residents alike.
Earlier reporting from newson6.com described a broader delivery lineup, including Instacart, Uber Eats and the company's own Oasis Eats system, along with curbside assistance and dedicated parking. That same reporting noted Oasis expects to employ more than 150 people across its two locations, with the downtown store alone expected to employ over 100 workers and serve more than 1,000 customers a day, according to journalrecord.com.
A Bumpy Road to Opening Day
The downtown store's timeline has shifted more than once. newson6.com reported the location was originally expected to open in early June, before theokeagle.org reported in May that the opening had been pushed back to July. By August, greencountrywire.com reported the grocer planned to open by or before Sept. 1. Monday's date now appears to be the one that stuck.
Hours will ease in gradually. The store plans limited hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Sept. 21 through Sept. 24, then a lunch-only service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 25, followed by a closure Sept. 26 through Sept. 27. Regular hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily are set to begin Sept. 28, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for 10:30 a.m. inside the store on Sept. 30.
Part of a Bigger Push for Fresh Food Access
Oasis Fresh Market, described as a Black-owned Tulsa grocery business focused on increasing access to fresh and healthy food, began in 2021 at Pine and Peoria. The downtown expansion follows the success of that original location at 1725 N. Peoria, which was approaching its five-year anniversary, per newson6.com's earlier reporting. The downtown store joins that north Tulsa location and a south Tulsa store at 6207 S. Peoria Ave., according to greencountrywire.com.
Downtown had been classified as a food desert because access to affordable and nutritious food was limited, journalrecord.com reports. More broadly, nearly one in five Tulsa County residents live in a food desert and 45% live in low-access areas, according to theokeagle.org. The outlet also reported that people living in Tulsa's food deserts can face life expectancies up to 10 years lower than those with ample food access, citing that gap as part of what's driving the current wave of grocery investment.
Oasis isn't the only new option to open recently. Three micro grocery stores, The Bazaar in the Dawson neighborhood, the Grocery Box at the Phoenix at 36N Apartments, and The Chop in northwest Tulsa, opened in different parts of the city within a two-week span, according to theokeagle.org's reporting. Downtown itself has also seen about 30% less daily foot traffic than it did in 2019, per the same outlet, a trend local business advocates hope a full-service grocery store can help reverse.
