Homeland celebrates the opening of a new location in northeast OKC

Chamber Member Homeland (HAC Inc), a locally headquartered, employee-owned company, celebrated the opening of their new, full-service grocery store at NE 36 and Lincoln in Oklahoma City Wednesday. It’s both an exciting day for the residents of the area and a big day for Homeland. This location is unique, as most of their stores open in existing buildings. This one was designed and built specifically to be a Homeland. Today’s festivities will be special, but if you can’t make it, as a continuation of the fun they will be hosting their inaugural “First Sunday” Community Day on September 5th from 1 – 5 p.m.

The Oklahoma City Chamber is excited to see this project come together. “We have been involved with Homeland since the inception of this project and helped fund a comprehensive grocery study to identify the needs, surrounding competition, and other important decision-making factors in order to ensure the store’s success,” said Tammy Fate, Senior Manager, Retail Development and Recruitment. “It’s been an honor to be a part of many conversations that led to the positive outcome of this masterpiece. The completion of this project is proving what a wonderful asset the grocery store will be to our community.”

Special guests at this morning’s grand opening include Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt; Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice; Cathy O’Connor, President of the Alliance for Economic Development for Oklahoma City; private investors; Marc Jones, CEO and president of Homeland; The Douglass High School Band; Comm-UNITY line dancers and Rumble. With no shortage of enthusiastic individuals, the opening of this grocery store is truly a celebration.

“The Homeland at 36th and Lincoln fills a longstanding need in our community,” said Marc Jones. “Northeast Oklahoma City, while standing in the shadow of our state Capitol, has been a food desert where residents traveled outside their neighborhoods to buy basic groceries. The opening of this Homeland will mean that they no longer need to travel…[and] that NE OKC residents will have a full-service supermarket in their community.”

In addition to food, the store also brings residents an opportunity to gather on a regular basis, further encouraging a sense of shared community. On Sunday, the inaugural “First Sunday” Community Day will feature local organizations, music, food trucks, kids’ activities, another appearance by OKC Thunder’s Rumble, a live remote with Power 103.5 and fun for the entire family. This “First Sunday” Community Day will happen on a regular basis as the store plans on welcoming food trucks and music on the first Sunday of each month.

“We are thrilled that an Oklahoma City-based grocery store will serve the neighborhoods in Northeast Oklahoma City,” said Cathy O’Connor. “The area has been underserved for far too long. The City of Oklahoma City, Ward 7 City Council members, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, residents, and the Alliance for Economic Development have been talking to grocers about locating in NE OKC for nearly 25 years. Homeland recognized the need for healthy, full-service grocery options in this area and we are thankful for their leadership and partnership.”

The new 30,000-square-foot grocery store will present a unique shopping experience to provide fresh, healthy grocery options to customers in the area. It will feature a pharmacy and will boast an array of fresh offerings such as organic fruits and vegetables, freshly baked breads, a custom butcher shop and fresh, ready-to-eat deli foods. Daily lunch and dinner hot menu with made-to-order salads, grilled wraps tacos, nachos, burritos, quesadillas and 14" take-and-bake pizzas. Whether you’re wanting to pick up a quick meal or are getting ready to entertain, this Homeland location will serve all your needs. Party trays are available every day, created with only the freshest ingredients, along with a bakery offering custom cakes.

Homeland and Hunger Free OK are also announcing that the NE 36th and Lincoln store is the first in Oklahoma City to offer Hunger Free Oklahoma’s Double Up Oklahoma Program which matches Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits dollar for dollar with DUO Bucks redeemable for fresh fruits and vegetables (up to $20/day).

Anyone receiving SNAP benefits is automatically eligible and no application is required. SNAP participants may simply shop with their SNAP/Oklahoma EBT card to start earning DUO Bucks. Learn more about the Hunger Free Oklahoma’s Double Up Oklahoma Program at https://hungerfreeok.org/doubleupok/  

Further demonstrating health and convenience as priorities, the pharmacy can be accessed via drive-through or while shopping in-store. Homeland is incentivizing the use of this state-of-the-art facility by providing a $15 gift card for every prescription transferred to the pharmacy.

Perhaps what’s most exciting about this Homeland location is the participation of locally established businesses such as Not Your Average Joe coffee and Lil’ Leos Barbeque. NYAJ will offer a variety of coffee drinks, and an ever-changing menu of beer and wine-by-the-glass. Homeland’s Chief HR Officer Aimee Maddera said that their iced lattes are “to die for.” Lines are expected out the door for Lil’ Leo’s delicious hickory smoked barbeque and their famous strawberry banana cake—staples of the iconic BBQ restaurant that has served our city since 1974.

The store will have indoor seating for 38 near the grab-and-go prepared foods and an outdoor patio that seats 19. With wine and beer by the glass from NYAJ, the patio, complete with gentle cooling misters, serves as a perfect outdoor oasis for the monthly “First Sunday” food truck and music event.

“The combination of the fresh deli, bakery, wine by the glass and casual seating areas allows us to offer an inviting atmosphere,” said Jones. “We want our store to serve as a gathering place for the neighborhood, where shoppers can grab a prepared lunch and enjoy it on the outdoor patio or where we can host community gatherings with food trucks and entertainment. This store combines several new ideas that our customers are looking for and we’re excited to offer them together in one store.” It won’t be hard for Homeland’s leaders to keep a close eye on this location and enjoy its wonderful amenities with their corporate headquarters just across the street.

Another feature of this store is the public art, displayed on the interior and exterior of the building. Artist Shakurah Maynard is a local graphic designer and photographer who created murals and black-and-white photography throughout the store as homage to the sense of family, community, and joy she has found in the Northeast Oklahoma City community.

Outdoor murals will be painted by Manifold Creative Concepts. The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, The City of Oklahoma City’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and Homeland announced previously that the firm had been chosen to design three murals covering two exterior walls visible from the corner of NE 36th and Lincoln. The exterior murals will connect the store to the surrounding community, reflect the culture of this Oklahoma City neighborhood and help reveal our city’s unique character. This investment in public art is a recurring and well-demonstrated priority throughout Oklahoma City’s new developments.

READ MORE ABOUT HOW OKC PRIORITIZES PUBLIC ART

“Every part of the process has had its own challenges and rewards. Once we finally negotiated and announced the site, it was fulfilling to hear from our neighbors how meaningful the investment was to them,” said Jones. “But as a retailer, I guess I have to say that all of this is a prelude to the real fun – which is opening the doors on grand opening day and serving our neighbors. That is the challenge of everyday meeting and exceeding our community’s expectations for fresh food and, more importantly, creating a new gathering place within our city. We live for that challenge as grocery retailers! And it is a challenge that I know our team of employee owners will rise to.”

Chamber Member CMS Willowbrook, a family-owned Oklahoma City company that specializes in commercial developments, schools, industrial facilities and more built this Homeland. They have set a high standard of construction management for over 45 years in our community and did not disappoint with this project. Every detail of the store’s construction is well thought out with clean lines, a modern aesthetic, and an easy to navigate layout.  

As is true with many developments of the last two years, the construction of this building has not come without challenges. “The construction has been a learning process especially in the middle of COVID-19-related labor and equipment shortages and delays, luckily we’ve had great partners in CMS Willowbrook to get the store built on schedule, despite all the surprises,” said Jones.

“Efforts to bring a new, full-service supermarket to Northeast Oklahoma City have been ongoing for decades,” said Marc Jones. “Our involvement began from a series of conversations with the Alliance for Economic Development for Oklahoma City’s Cathy O’Connor. From there, we looked at various sites across NE OKC and ultimately settled on the 36th and Lincoln location.”

The store will serve several local neighborhoods and will share the block with the new MAPS 3 Senior Wellness Center that is planned to be complete in fall 2022. The store and wellness center will be served by a new EMBARK bus shelter.

For more information, follow Homeland Stores on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit their website: www.homelandstores.com

About Homeland Stores

Homeland is part of the HAC, Inc. grocery chain headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As of 2021, HAC operates 79 grocery stores in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Georgia. HAC operates under multiple banners including Homeland, United, Cash Saver, Ponca City Discount, Food World and Piggly Wiggly. Homeland is HAC’s largest banner as well as Oklahoma’s largest locally-owned grocery store chain with 34 locations statewide. Homeland has been 100 percent employee owned since 2011. The company traces its roots back to 1916 when the first United Supermarket was opened in Sayre, Oklahoma.