Meet Donta Rose, the man behind the black-owned $5m ‘Grocery Outlet’ store in Philadelphia

Donta Rose, 28, is the owner of a $5 million new local Grocery Outlet in North Philadelphia. He cut the ribbon for his grocery outlet store in the $52 million Sharswood Ridge Shopping Center, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Donta is counting on the support of his family and friends to manage the facility, and will also receive support from Grocery Outlet, which has over 400 stores nationwide.

Many of his staff are from the local community. “While we want to be a successful business, we also want to be connected to the community,” said Melanie Rose, Donta’s mother. “You know what’s going on in Philadelphia. You know how there’s so much crime and so much violence and so many people taking it out on each other instead of building within each other. That’s why we’re here — not to say, ‘We have a grocery store,’ but we want the community to know that we are from here.”

Donta has a history with Grocery Outlet dating back to when he completed studying engineering at Morgan State University. He designed stores for the outlet, which at the time was expanding into the Philadelphia area.

He got interested in owning a franchise store after seeing a list of future stores and saw one earmarked for opening at 21st Street and Ridge Avenue in the Sharswood section of North Philadelphia.

“That’s where we’re from. I know the neighborhood. I know how unique this neighborhood is, because if you go four blocks over, you’re on Temple’s campus, and if you go five blocks down, you’re in Brewerytown. It became really important for me to be in a community that we’re familiar with,” Rose said.

To open a California-based discount franchise, he dug into his savings and what he described as “a nice, hefty loan.” The store offers a full line of meats, dairy, frozen food, and produce. Donta is especially proud to provide fresh food delivered four days a week.

The store has a parking garage and will also serve as a convenient walking destination for many residents.