CINCINNATI — The Country Meat Co. Marketplace, Avondale's only grocery store, is closing its doors, according to a July 9 social media post.
Co-owners Chanel and Tennel Bryant opened the store in February 2025 as Avondale's first grocery store in decades, bringing hope to what had been a food desert.
"It is with incredibly heavy hearts that we have made the difficult decision to close the doors of The Country Meat Co. Marketplace," the store's post reads.
When Aldi closed at the Avondale Town Center in 2008, the neighborhood became a food desert, leaving residents without a nearby place to get groceries. In November 2025, WCPO visited the store and spoke to Chanel about the struggle to keep shelves stocked.
"Our mission is to continue to bring them fresh produce and great quality products, and because we are a family-owned small business, we are impacted a lot differently," she said.
Chanel told us in November things had been "up and down" since the marketplace's opening, with several factors contributing to supply challenges, including tariffs.
"This decision was not made lightly. We have fought for this store every single day," the July 9 post reads. "We believed in this mission enough to keep showing up through rising operating costs, ongoing theft, acts of violence in the surrounding area, unmet financial commitments, and challenges that ultimately made it impossible for the business to remain sustainable."
The post goes on to say the Bryant family will "continue to do what (they've) always done, feeding people, creating opportunities, investing in communities, and staying true to the mission that has always guided us."
The marketplace's post hints at the next chapter, saying the closing of the store is not goodbye.
"We don't stop. We build. ON TO THE NEXT ONE," the post reads.
The post did not specify when the store's last day open is.
