Celebrating the people and industries that make up the Coastal Bend is near and dear to Lucas Boyd’s heart. Literally, it’s tattooed onto his left elbow. Boyd showcases his flag of Corpus Christi tattoo with pride, indicating the seagull surrounded by eight stars that represent the city’s industries, explaining the intersections his life has had with each.
The journey to opening Community Grocery—a new boutique grocery store and cafe in downtown Corpus Christi—may have begun five years ago, but it’s been the stuff of dreams for decades. It was drawn up by Boyd in collaboration with David Le, who runs food programming and general management, the late William “Wild Bill” Hoover and Richard Martinez, who built out the store’s industrial chic interiors.
“David and I have been besties for 25 years,” Boyd said, thinking back to early talks of the store, when the two were working in food service. “I liked cooking, but never expected to fall in love with the kitchen. It was nurtured and grew at a slow pace. For 25 years, we always talked about doing something [like this].”
Community Grocery’s cafe features an expanding menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner programming developed by Le, and an instant ramen bar to suit a variety of blends and flavors. Two fast fan-favorites from the sandwich menu are the CG Hot Melt and Uncle Rake’s Famous Mortadella, both of which come with housemade white sauce and a side of Café de Paris butter.
While their menu continues to evolve, Boyd and Le plan to lend their kitchen as a place for local chefs to showcase their craft communally.
A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that over 15% of Texans lack consistent access to healthy, affordable food. Nueces County ranks above the state average with 18.6% of our community—over 66,000 people—experiencing food insecurity. One pervasive food desert in the Coastal Bend stretches across downtown Corpus Christi. The need for closer food and grocery options had become a growing concern for those living and working downtown, something Boyd and his partners deeply considered in the business’ development.
In addition to food and drink items, the shop also carries toiletries, cleaning supplies and other household items. Boyd prizes the small shopping experience they have cultivated as more intentional, without the overwhelming variety of a supermarket, and favoring smaller brands in place of bigger names.
In many ways, Boyd looks to give flowers to all those who have helped pave the path to Community Grocery becoming a reality, a place where downtowners can have access to quality food, goods, services and space to support the area’s once again burgeoning economy. He credits the businesses downtown with having revitalized and injected a new energy into the space that made his shop possible. Boyd said the hope for the store is to champion the work of the many people working in the industries that make our city shine, and to provide them with exceptional service.
“I realized I’m a servant at my core,” he said. “It makes my heart happy to provide good service. I’m happy to eat my dinner cold and late because I know a whole room full of people had a good time [here.] It makes it more enjoyable to go into work every day when your customer base is grateful and happy to be there.”
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