Homegrown Seven Grains Natural Market is celebrating a quarter-century of growth with its 25th anniversary next month in Tallmadge.

As big box stores have flourished and corporations have purchased small natural and organic food companies over the decades, Gina and David Krieger, owners of the independent Seven Grains, have focused on building relationships with customers and manufacturers to continually offer new varieties of price-conscious, natural and organic foods.

Seven Grains, which opened in 1998 at 92 West Ave., focuses on offering unique, high-quality foods as well as educating customers.

Organic foods had a different reputation when the store opened in the late '90s.

"At the time, organic just kinda had this stigma of naturally being expensive and out of touch and not available to the average person," said Gina Krieger, 59.

"I think we've cut through that stigma," said David Krieger, 56. "You come on in here, it's got an earthy feel to it, it's got a hometown feel, it's even got a farm market feel, it's even got an upscale feel."

The community is invited to celebrate Seven Grains' 25th anniversary with two special events: "All Things Organic and Natural for the Mind and Body" from 12 to 4 p.m. May 6 and "All Things Vegan and Gluten Free" May 13. The events will feature food samplings and demos, organic wine and cocktails, and giveaways including a Blackstone griddle grill. Mini sessions of LED light therapy and hand massages also will be offered.

The Kriegers say their aggressive pricing allows them to compete directly with mass market retailers, including online. Among their recent deals, a 23-ounce Muir Glen organic pasta sauce, which features a premium tomato imported from Italy, was priced at two for $4.

Seven Grains was recently recognized by a national distributor as one of two natural grocers in Ohio named in the top 250 natural independent grocers east of the Mississippi, in terms of sales volume.

At Seven Grains, lots of one-on-one consultations about food supplements and foods happen, either spontaneously or by appointment. On a recent evening, Gina Krieger had a 30-minute talk with a couple about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and what grass-fed beef really means.

Customers know they're going to get answers to their questions in those personalized conversations, she said.

"That's the biggest thing: We're trying to educate people," Gina Krieger said.

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Most of the foods in the store are certified organic. All of Seven Grains' organic and natural foods contain nothing artificial or genetically modified, no high fructose corn syrup, nitrates, hydrogenated oils or anything bromated or irradiated.

On a recent Friday, the smell of cooking nitrate-free bacon for the store's broccoli salad permeated the store. The market's neighborhood feel includes numerous hand-drawn chalkboard signs, including one above a freezer case with Little Red Riding Hood saying "Grandma, what big eyes you have," with the Wolf responding, "All the better to see these gluten-free desserts, my dear."

All of the more than 90 wines that Seven Grains sells are organic, making them the largest section of organic wines in Northeast Ohio, the Kriegers said.

The store's grocery section is separated from its gluten-free/allergen-free section, so gluten-sensitive shoppers have a "safe spot" to shop, Gina Krieger said.

In the prepared foods area, a salad bar featuring organic vegetables was added last year. The prepared food cases have expanded multiple times over the years as demand for grab-and-go foods has grown, with the store about to triple its vegan prepared food selections.

Two ovens run all day preparing scratch-made prepared foods, including entrees, salads, soups and chili grab-and-go items that have taken off in the last five years. Popular premade entrees are barbecue ribs and grilled, seasoned Norwegian salmon.

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"We make everything from scratch but on top of that we're making the ingredients themselves," including high fructose corn syrup-free barbecue sauce for the ribs, Gina said. "We want to make that sure we're using the purest ingredients from beginning to end."

The store, which has 20 employees, also sells deli meats that have no nitrates, antibiotics, hormones or MSG, sliced to order.

As a number of specialty organic or natural brands have gone mainstream over the years, Seven Grains continues to find smaller family companies in the store's quest to continually offer unique products.

"When I see a company get bought out [by a large corporation], I really start to watch the ingredients," said Gina Krieger, who vets all the products that Seven Grains sells.

"There's always a new company or companies popping up," she said. "We find some really, really good products from just smaller companies."

She focuses on forming relationships with companies at trade shows four times a year, where she meets manufacturers face-to-face.

"It goes back to relationships," she said. "You get pricing that is a lot of times better than the big guys."

Constantly adding new products gives Seven Grains an edge, Gina Krieger said. "It's exciting for the customer because every time's an adventure when they come in."

Gina Krieger grew up on a farm outside Buffalo, New York. David Krieger, originally from old North Hampton (now Cuyahoga Falls), grew up in his family's business, Krieger's Health Foods Market in Cuyahoga Falls.

Gina has a background in marketing. David has a produce background, having formerly driven a truck to the Northern Ohio Food Terminal with his father to buy wholesale produce for Krieger's.

At age 23, David Krieger opened his own Krieger's Fresh Market in Brimfield Township before opening the 10,000-square-foot Seven Grains in Tallmadge.

The store, which offers certified organic, 100% grass-fed beef, offers the personal touch, grinding its own meat and cutting its own steaks. Their chicken comes from Amish Country in Southern Ohio and their Norwegian salmon from an importer.

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The Kriegers are proud to get customers from far and wide. The come regularly from as far as Pittsburgh, southern Ohio, Boardman, Ashland, Mentor and Kirtland with coolers to load up on meats.

"This is a really good staff and this is a really great customer base," David Krieger said.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

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Seven Grains celebrates 25 years of natural, organic foods in ... - Akron Beacon Journal