With a theme of “Refuel, refresh, recharge,” Loop neighborhood market recently opened at 1491 Trancas St. in Napa.
According to Varish Goyal, owner and president of the growing chain of Northern California neighborhood markets, other Loop markets are located in Atherton, Daly City, Greenbrae, San Francisco and other cities.
More are on the way, according to Goyal. Before the end of the year, he hopes to obtain permits to build stores in Novato and Sacramento.
“This is my family’s business,” he said. “My father and my uncle started it back in 1978.”
As a young man, operating a chain of neighborhood stores was the last thing on Goyal’s mind. Despite “growing up in this business,” he said, “I had never planned to be in the business.” In fact, he earned a degree in science and biomedical engineering at Duke University, and then graduated with a combined MD and MBA from Wake Forest University, a private liberal arts school in North Carolina.
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But a short time later, “I decided I did not want to practice medicine,” he said. The young doctor instead offered to help with the family business. “One thing led to another and I got the bug. I absolutely love what I do now.”
“We are a different kind of convenience store,” he said. “We feel we are a local neighborhood store.”
The customer base is local residents. “We don’t pull traffic from all other areas. Either you work in the area or you live in the area,” said Goyal.
The business plan was to cater to a segment of the community the industry had overlooked — “people looking for healthier options.”
Although half the market features traditional products ranging from soda pop to cigarettes (which are hidden from view), the other half includes yogurt, salad and espresso bars and other healthier options.
“You’ll even find seaweed and aloe,” he boasted. “We take pride in supporting active and healthy lifestyles by carrying organic, natural and gluten free products,” Goyal wrote on the business’s website.
“Customers can come in and not have to grab and go,” he said. “We want to be a place where you can congregate. It’s a good place to meet up with somebody.”
Each store offers Wi-Fi access for its customers.
“That’s the kind of paradigm shift we’re trying to get,” Goyal said.
Noting the Napa store also sells gasoline, he said, “you can come in and refuel, refresh and recharge your vehicle and your own personal self.”
The store has eight fueling positions at four pumps.
The Napa store is the former site of a Shell gas station and small convenience market. “We literally tore everything out and made this a fresh location,” Goyal said. “We wanted to upgrade the site for the community. We created a place to come and hang out and get healthy options.”