On a Wednesday afternoon, the scents of patchouli, sage and\u00a0lavender swirl and cloak Green & White Grocery off East Seventh Street as a handful of customers mill around the shop during the lunch hour. A collection of crystals, Buddha statues, prayer candles and incense sticks adorn the shelves and countertops, an offering of peace and spiritual enlightenment for passersby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It’s easy to see why Green & White Grocery<\/a> has been a beacon on Austin’s Eastside<\/a> for 90 years, doubling as a community gathering space that has served three generations of Austinites since Norverto and Susie Lopez first opened it in 1936. The store paid tribute to both the owners and the neighborhood’s Mexican cultural roots<\/a>; nearly a century later, the business model and neighborhood demographics have changed \u2014 but current owner John\u00a0Cazares continues to welcome familiar faces and newcomers alike as he works to preserve a piece of Old Austin.<\/p>\n How Green & White Grocery became an East Austin institution<\/p>\n While Cazares has officially overseen shop operations since 1993, Green & White Grocery is quite literally embedded into the fabric of his DNA, inheriting it from both his father, John Cazares Sr. and, originally, his maternal grandfather. Green & White is intertwined with all aspects of Cazares’ childhood and adult life, having grown up in the neighborhood, attending Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church (and its former parochial day school), spending days at Lopez’s house across the street and beginning to work at the shop when he was a teenager.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Green & White Grocery, a former neighborhood market turned botanica, has been operating for 90 years and across three generations in East Austin.<\/p>\n Kelsey Thompson\/MySA<\/p>\n When he reflects on his childhood in Austin and particularly at Green & White, Christmases and his grandfather’s annual New Year’s Eve parties came to mind. The shop was once famous for its tamales and became a staple in Austinites’ holiday traditions. Each December, extended family from across Texas and the West Coast would come to Austin for two to three weeks to ring in the holiday tidings.<\/p>\n “That was the finale \u2014 building up to selling all the tamales was the New Year’s Eve party,” he told MySA. “So there were tons of relatives, people from neighborhood, compadres, comadres, just anybody that was associated or close to the store was probably there at that time.”<\/p>\n Green & White Grocery, a former neighborhood market turned botanica, has been operating for 90 years and across three generations in East Austin.<\/p>\n Kelsey Thompson\/MySA<\/p>\n When Lopez died in 1971, Cazares’ father took over as owner, with his son serving as his right-hand man. When it came time for his father to retire, Cazares said it was an easy transition to take the keys in 1993 and lead after years of being a\u00a0sponge, learning all sides of cleaning, stocking, cooking and other operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Green & White Grocery transforms into ‘La Botanica’ Green & White<\/p>\n Aside from working at Green & White, Cazares said he’s only worked one other job in his life. But it wasn’t just the comfort and familiarity of the place that kept him; it was knowing that this business, and what it represented, was so much bigger than himself or his family.<\/p>\n “My whole life still revolved around the place here \u2014 not just the store, but the people, the neighborhood,” he said. “I think the community would have been a little disappointed or saddened that this place wasn’t going to be here because it was a big part of [their lives]…even just coming by to talk or say hi or whatever they needed, to pick up tamales.”<\/p>\n A few years into his ownership, Cazares decided to forego offering tamales, noting the decision was one he struggled with given its notoriety in the community. However, Cazares had spent those several years working days on end\u00a0from September to December, with no breaks in the mix.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The grunt work of tamale season compounded existing financial stresses, Cazares said, as Green & White had historically been selling its groceries at cheaper rates “than what we should have.”\u00a0Knowing the only options were jacking up grocery prices or switching gears, Cazares opted for the latter, taking Green & White’s existing selection of candles and herbs and growing it into the botanica it is today courtesy candles, oils, statues and incense as part of its repertoire.<\/p>\n Green & White Grocery, a former neighborhood market turned botanica, has been operating for 90 years and across three generations in East Austin.<\/p>\n Kelsey Thompson\/MySA<\/p>\n Its first week as a botanica, the shop made just $300, Cazares recounted. But slowly, week by week, the numbers began going up and the shop gained more footing within its niche. That’s not to say the entire journey has been easy; the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with changing neighborhood demographics affected the business. But today, he said Green & White is able to maintain its operations with a little help from both new neighbors and some old customers still in their neck of the woods.<\/p>\n “We’re still here doing it, and it’s because of the community,” he said. “Sometimes [customers] come in here they’re not sure what they’re looking at, but they look around and oh, there’s incense here. Oh, there’s candles. There’s\u00a0this and that. Some people are really interested in the place, and they actually take the time to actually see what we have as opposed to coming in here and going, ‘oh, nope.'”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Some of those older customers have passed on, while others have lingered. The neighborhood is home to a much younger crowd than it once was. But occasionally, someone will come inside and share their grandmother once shopped here, or their mother used to buy herbs. Whether Austinites have visited themselves, many know the building by its iconic green and white exterior, becoming a bit of a cultural landmark in of itself.<\/p>\n Green & White Grocery, a former neighborhood market turned botanica, has been operating for 90 years and across three generations in East Austin.<\/p>\n Kelsey Thompson\/MySA Green & White Grocery, a former neighborhood market turned botanica, has been operating for 90 years and across three generations in East Austin.<\/p>\n Kelsey Thompson\/MySA<\/p>\n Green & White becomes city landmark \u2014 but gentrification, redevelopment woes linger<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n