LOWER PRICE HILL, Ohio (WKRC) - A new neighborhood grocery store is restarting food access for residents.

Meiser’s Fresh Grocery & Deli in Lower Price Hill is now open for business again with new owners. The new grocery store will provide more families access to fresh, healthy food -- a need many take for granted.

It was a humbling moment of gratitude Thursday morning, which marked the grand opening of the store.

“After Meiser’s Parkview Market closed in 2017, it left folks in Lower Price Hill without a neighborhood grocery store market,” Rachel Hastings, executive director of Price Hill Will, said.

It’s been about four years since neighbors have had walkable access to a grocery store. For Lower Price Hill residents like Melissa Baker, this new store means everything.

“In order to go to the nearest grocery store, it's two miles, three miles up the hill, and I don't drive, so that's a big deterrent for me trying to find a way to the grocery store to feed my family, to feed my grandkids,” Baker, resident and trustee of Your Store of the Queen City, said.

She’s far from the only one.

“I have to catch the bus every day to go to Kroger whenever I want to go to a grocery store just to get regular food,” Lower Price Hill resident Paul LeBlanc said.

But now, there is healthy, fresh food in the neighborhood that won’t require a bus trip for access.

“It has free produce for anybody. You don't need any income verification, but anyone can step down and get free fruits and vegetables for their families,” Hastings said.

The public store will bring community employment, fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, deli meats and cheeses, cooking items and grab-and-go snacks, as well as space for processing bulk and rescue foods.

“Since 2017, our insightful and dedicated Lower Price Hill neighbors have led the design and implementation of a simple, right-sized solution to the complex problems that stem from food insecurity through their new model for Meiser’s,” Reba Hennessey, president of Your Store of the Queen City, said. “An underlying goal of their model is food sovereignty and networking food systems for the neighborhood, not relying on single-food sources alone for sustaining access to fresh, dignified food choices.”

Lower Price Hill vendors will sell inside the grocery and an adjacent space called Outerspace that will be run by The Collective, a neighborhood group of artist-activists and micro-entrepreneurs who also helped design Meiser’s grocery finishes.

The shopping model in the grocery will be a blend of donated goods (free to shoppers), traditional sales of foods and home goods, neighbor entrepreneurs, pharmacy consignment for personal and family care and prepared foods.

“It just means a lot to have this open and walkable,” Baker said.

The store is located at 738 State Ave. The store will be closed Wednesdays and Sundays. The rest of the week, it’s open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“It's just going to be a blessing to this community,” LeBlanc said.

Meiser’s Fresh Grocery & Deli will be operated in partnership with Your Store of the Queen City and Price Hill Will.

For more information about the store, click here.