Local Love: The Green Corner Store

Honesty greets you at the door and shows you around The Green Corner Store. Located in a 120 year old building in the SoMa district of Little Rock, every element, from the items on the shelves to the reclaimed antique fixtures that hold them, is consistent with owner Shelley Green's goals for her business. "It really started as an educational thing," Shelley says, "but people were asking me where they could get supplies for green living, and I realized there was a need." And so, twelve years ago, The Green Corner Store opened its doors.

The focus then, as now, was to be local supplier of (mostly) Arkansas-local goods, curated around the concept that what is good for you is good for the planet, too, and that our small choices about what we purchase and where we buy it from can collectively change the world for the better. Shelley chooses natural cleaning products, baby supplies, eco bath and body, and a great array of locally produced snacks, accessories, clothing, and home goods. When I discovered the store eight years ago, there was a Loblolly ice cream counter occupying the sunny front corner, but after they moved into their own space next door, Savoy Tea came to fill the void.

I initially wandered in for the ice cream, but I stayed for everything else. We were gluten and dairy free at the time, which is hard enough as an adult but exponentially more difficult for a toddler, so I was grateful to find vegan ice cream in kid friendly flavors, and clearly labeled skin care products that wouldn't create contact allergy breakouts. We've outgrown the allergies and the upcycled baby slippers that actually stay on, but still visit regularly for tea, local honey, and gifts.

Shelley has worked in various facets of the retail world, and one way she applies what she's learned is by making sure that her space was one where both customers and staff could relax and feel well treated. Over the past year, that's included rebuilding her website and adding a curbside pick up option (I'm particularly grateful for that last addition, since pandemic or not I don't necessarily need my entire entourage to "assist" me in popping in for a beeswax candle). "I thank my living stars every day for my loyal customers who have continued to make every effort to keep the store open," Shelley says. "That people are continuing to walk through the door - it never loses its thrill."

You can find The Green Corner Store at

1423 Main Street

Little Rock AR 72202

online

and on Facebook and Instagram

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