03/18/2026
An important announcement from Your Store of the Queen City about Meiser's Fresh Grocery and the future of our work in Cincinnati:
Your Store of the Queen City (YSQC) has a daring dream to eliminate all of Cincinnati’s food deserts through neighbor-led grocery initiatives. Five years ago, neighbors in Lower Price Hill came together to restore access to fresh, affordable groceries in their community. With support from the City of Cincinnati and partners including Community Matters, Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, and Price Hill Will, they formed Your Store of the Queen City and launched Meiser's Fresh Grocery and Deli—a community-driven food hub built by and for residents. Meiser’s became a powerful example of what is possible when neighbors lead.
Over the past five years, our YSQC team has learned valuable lessons about what it takes to sustain this work: strong community leadership, clear collaboration, and diversified financial support are all essential. At the same time, we have continued to face the same systemic challenges that created food deserts in the first place, such as supply chain barriers and income instability.
After careful consideration and in partnership with our community partners, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close Meiser’s as of March 18, 2026. We are deeply grateful to the donors, partners, staff, and volunteers who helped serve more than 9,000 customers over the past five years. This work leaves a lasting legacy.
In the coming months, our key partner, Community Matters will lead engagement with neighbors to steward the space and explore future food access opportunities in Lower Price Hill. In the immediate, the food pantry and community gardens at Community Matters will continue to provide food access.
While this is not the outcome we planned, it makes our mission at YSQC even more urgent to face the systemic challenges to our food system. We are infinitely proud of what we have been able to accomplish together so far, and we remain committed to building a future where small neighbor-led grocery initiatives can thrive. YSQC will continue our work with boldness, leadership, and clarity to build the infrastructure needed to support community-led food systems.
With deep gratitude for our journey together,
Alyson Gerwe, Interim Executive Director
Alec Urquhart, Board Chair
The Board and Staff of Your Store of the Queen City
