Urban Acres Goes Back to Its Roots

Urban Acres is cutting its hours come Jan. 16. (Photo: Urban Acres)

I chatted with Urban Acres owner Liz Goulding last night about the store’s new winter hours, and she said it’s just a case of trying to make the most of limited resources.

After Jan. 16, the storefront at 1301 B W. Davis St. will be open on Friday from noon to 6 p.m., Saturdays (which are co-op pickup days) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

“We decided to kind of get back to where we started,” Goulding said, referring to Urban Acres’ origins as a produce co-op. It doesn’t hurt that, after a widely successful Groupon deal, her co-op membership has already doubled in size for 2012.

With the rapid increase in membership, Goulding acknowledged that some challenges lie ahead.

“A lot of these people haven’t even heard of us,” she said.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the addition of Bolsa Mercado just down Davis Street didn’t have something to do with Urban Acres’ new hours.

“We’ve been talking about this — we’ve been waiting to do this, actually, for a while,” Goulding said. “I think there’s room for both. Besides, most people come in on the weekends anyway.”

Of course, if you need to contact the Urban Acres staff outside of the store’s business hours, you can reach them via phone and e-mail.

“People are finding out more and more about food integrity,” Goulding added, “and we’re going to try our hardest to keep our new members happy.”

Additionally, Goulding said the store is hosting an event called  ”Get Local, Get Healthy” on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees can find booths from Andrea Bithel of Oak Cliff Organics, naturopath Dr. Kate Naumes, Dr. Brandon Huddleston of Growth Life Studios, Lisa Staffelbach of 24 Carrot Health, acupuncturist and owner of Bishop Acupuncture Laura Yoo, Ayurveda expert Elaine Dodson, and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff.