FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Editor's note: The video above is a story about the market when it opened.
The first metro Atlanta autonomous grocery store with robot delivery opened in 2022 during the pandemic, and a year later, the store is still blooming with business.
Owners of Nourish + Bloom Market, Jamie and Jilea Hemmings' son, Jabari, who's diagnosed with autism, inspired the idea that has grown into a community staple.
Many children diagnosed with autism need a nutritious diet and often struggle with food aversion and sensory processing disorders. This can make going out to buy and eat food a stressful experience.
"We used to make prepared meals for kids that were sold in grocery stores all around the country, Jilea said. "But as I started to really get to know the community, I realized that what they needed more than anything was a market."
The two opened up the market in Fayetteville, hoping to add more options to what the coupled deemed a "food desert," or an area with limited access to affordable and nutritious food. It's the first of its kind in Georgia and the southeast.
Now with a little over a year under their belt, the pair sees exactly how they measure up with the big box grocery stores, one issue being price.
"They have just much more buying power than we have, obviously, because they're buying for so many grocery stores at once that they get deeper discounts than small businesses to get," Jilea said, adding that some items could be higher at their store, "because we're actually paying a higher price to even get the product."
But where they shine, Jilea said, is their convenience and their 24/7 day-a-week hours.
"You can just go into a store, pick up whatever you want and walk out," Jilea said. "And then, 15 seconds later, you have a receipt."
Many against automating grocery stores bring up a concern that the machines are taking positions from cashiers and other staff, but Jilea believes that technology can bring new skills to people.
"Our technology is constantly evolving. We're not losing staff," Jilea said. "We're actually training them into new roles. Right? And these new roles are less physically labor-intensive and more digitally intensive."
The grocery business is one that typically employs teens, and young adults, which is something Jilea loves, because she can foster youth to get "involved in STEM programs because, you know, we see a decline right now in black and brown students."
The Hemmings store is built on family, and Jilea said her son inspires her every day to create stores all over the country so those who are neurodivergent have an option in the food they eat and how they purchase it.
"I say, you know, would you do this if you didn't get paid a dollar," Jilea said. "If the answer is yes, then you already know you're on the right path."
This story is a part of a series highlighting local Black businesses and their embodiment of Black excellence in light of Black History Month. To view more stories, visit 11alive.com/blackhistory