A new grocery store and deli opened Thursday in Detroit's Outer Drive-Hayes neighborhood, giving east-side residents a walkable alternative to the gas stations and liquor stores many had relied on for groceries. Whittier Bodega, located at Whittier Avenue and Wayburn, is owned by Alontae Pittman, a local east-side resident and father of five who said he wanted to make fresh food easier for his neighbors to find.
Pittman's store offers fresh fruits and vegetables, groceries and hot food, along with products from local entrepreneurs, according to WDIV ClickOnDetroit. The station reports that Whittier Bodega plans to eventually provide tax preparation, free Wi-Fi, notary services and printing — services meant to turn the shop into more than just a place to buy milk and bread. Those additions echo what Pittman told the Fair Food Network, which reported the store would carry pantry goods, fresh produce from local growers, prepared foods from local vendors and a full-service deli.
“This neighborhood is truly a community — full of homes, full of people, full of schools, churches, businesses — but no grocery store,” Pittman told the Fair Food Network, describing the gap Whittier Bodega is meant to fill. Keisha Brooks, a neighbor, told WDIV ClickOnDetroit she was excited to find fresh produce within walking distance of home. Pittman has said residents should no longer need to drive to 8 Mile, 10 Mile or outside Detroit just to find fresh food.
Grants Helped Get the Store Off the Ground
The project drew support from two funding sources. WDIV reported that it received a $50,000 Motor City Match grant and a $25,000 Green Grocer grant. The Green Grocer Program itself can issue cash grants of up to $25,000 per store to cover equipment, technology, inventory and buildout costs, according to the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.
Fair Food Network materials also indicate Whittier Bodega is expected to accept SNAP and offer Double Up Food Bucks, which would match eligible fresh-vegetable purchases one-to-one up to $20 per day for shoppers using SNAP benefits. The organization separately listed Whittier Bodega among new Double Up Food Bucks sites after the store opened its doors on the east side.
Fourth Store Under the City's Green Grocer Push
Whittier Bodega is the fourth business to open under Detroit's Green Grocer Program, which aims to expand access to neighborhood grocery markets, per WDIV ClickOnDetroit. The city has said it aims to have six neighborhood marketplaces open by the end of 2026, a target that aligns with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation's own public statement that six Green Grocer-supported stores were expected to open this year.
The program relaunched after an earlier phase ran from 2010 through 2017 and generated more than $50 million in investment, according to the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. Other recent openings include Micah's Market on Fenkell Avenue in the Crary/St. Marys neighborhood, which the agency called the second Green Grocer ribbon cutting of the year, and Shops on Six on the city's west side, where an anchor grocery store called The Counter received its own $25,000 Green Grocer grant, according to WXYZ.
A Citywide Gap in Grocery Access
The push for small-format grocers responds to a persistent problem. Most Detroiters live more than a mile from a grocery store, according to the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation's Food Access director, as reported by CBS News Detroit. The city had 64 traditional grocery stores in 2021, down from 74 in 2017, according to BridgeDetroit, which also reported that roughly one-third of Detroit residents don't own a vehicle, compounding the difficulty of reaching stores farther from home.
That lack of nearby options has pushed shopping dollars out of the city entirely. BridgeDetroit reported that researcher Alex B. Hill estimates Detroit residents spend between $300 million and $500 million a year on groceries in the suburbs. Neighborhood Grocery, a Black-owned store in Detroit's Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood, was cited by Axios as an earlier example of the same fresh-food gap on the east side when it opened in 2023.
Looking Ahead on Whittier Avenue
Alonzo Bell, president of the Whittier Business Association, said neighbors are working to strengthen the Whittier retail corridor and attract more businesses to the area, per WDIV ClickOnDetroit. Pittman said his vision extends beyond selling groceries — he wants Whittier Bodega to function as a community store that hosts neighborhood events like toy drives and expands its services as it grows, with hiring rooted in the community, according to the Fair Food Network.
Pittman also plans to let customers help decide what the store carries, according to WDIV ClickOnDetroit, and he hopes Whittier Bodega can serve as a model other Detroit neighborhoods might follow. For now, the store marks one more entry in a citywide experiment to rebuild grocery access one corner at a time.
