April 20, 2006

Springs Natural will celebrate its grand opening April 22. The store is owned by Bob Edwards and managed by Marnie Neuman.

By Lauren Heaton

A wide selection of natural, organic, wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and other alternative foods and health and beauty products are once again within reach in town with the arrival of Springs Natural Foods on Dayton Street.

The health food store opened last month, and now nearly 80 percent stocked, will host a grand opening in conjunction with Earth Day on Saturday, April 22.

Springs Natural, located at the former site of Moody Shoes, will offer 30 percent off on all nutritional supplements and will offer samples of products from a variety of its manufacturers and distributors.

Store owner Bob Edwards, who owns another health food store in Springfield, said he opened the business in Yellow Springs because he saw a market in town for a wider variety of health foods, vitamin supplements and health and beauty products.

Tom’s Market does a good job of stocking organic produce and other natural products, he said, and Springs Natural intends to supplement that by offering organic bulk fruits and grains and by specializing in foods for people with specific gluten and dairy allergies.

Between the two stores, Edwards said he hopes to offer local shoppers a strong enough selection to keep them shopping here in town instead of having to travel elsewhere for their needs.

Thirty percent of the merchandise at Springs Natural will be devoted to the top brand names in vitamins and natural food supplements, such as Solaray, Soldar, Nature’s Way and Enzymatic Therapy, and also high-quality homeopathic remedies. Another major focus of the store will be natural cleaning supplies and health and beauty lines such as Nature’s Gate, Kiss My Face and Burt’s Bees.

While the store will offer unusual products such as natural baby care items and organic pet food and supplies, the majority of its stock will be foods, including both dry and frozen goods with a limited stock of fresh carrots, apples and milk and cheese products, Edwards said.

Many small health food stores have been forced to offer a wider selection of items to compete with big chain stores, which carry organic food and natural products as well, he said. But Edwards said he is committed to keeping prices for common health food store items such as soy and rice milks competitive with box store prices. And he said he feels his and other natural stores have something the bigger chains can’t offer, which is a knowledgable and experienced group of employees who have the time and inclination to educate customers about their products and help serve their needs.

Springs Natural manager Marnie Neuman has worked in restaurants and health food stores in Dayton, Seattle and Yellow Springs over the past decade and managed Edwards’s Springfield store before they opened the store in town. She has a good feel for Yellow Springs shoppers, who she said are familiar with natural products, and she is ready to help them find the herb or supplement that works for them.

Neuman, Amanda Turner and Emily Vollmer will staff the store on most days, while Edwards will float between his two stores. The store is small, about half the size of the Springfield business. But customers can place orders for just about anything, and shipments have a good chance of arriving within a day if the item is available at the Springfield store, Edwards said.

“We want people to come in here and be enthused about the selection and the pricing, and to feel comfortable asking questions,” Edwards said. “We want to feel we’re doing the best job we can to meet our customers’ needs.”

Springs Natural is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com