By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
September 17, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – There’s nothing general about this store.

On Aug. 29, Savannah Northcraft and Britton Turnbull opened Urban Provisions General Store in the East Bottoms, 2616 Guinotte Ave. The store features a hodgepodge of American-made products, each described with vigor and excitement by Northcraft.

The store’s opening came after some time as a pop-up general store, opening for one or two days on weekends in the space next to the Local Pig, where Northcraft’s husband works.

“We got into the pop-up style but it eventually became a full-time thing,” Northcraft said.

The idea behind the store came after the recent recession. Northcraft, who attended the Kansas City Art Institute and previously worked for Boulevard Brewery Company, noticed people were buying a lot more disposable products. She saw a need to not only change that, but for a need for people to also start purchasing more American-made goods. Since then, she said an “American-made” movement has slowly been taking over the country, especially with younger generations.

“We wanted to bring something to Kansas City that wasn’t here,” Northcraft said. “Nobody was representing this environment in Kansas City.”

The speciality pantry store, although not big, is split into sections, with dried goods, home decor and apothecary needs filling up the store. Urban Provisions will sell local goods ranging from Our Sassy Pantry’s wicked tomato and ancho cherry jam made in Prairie Village, Kan., chocolate bars from Askinosie Chocolate made in Springfield, Mo., and whole red wheat flour from Acme Grain in Edgerton, Kan. Northcraft also showcased the “beer snacks” section featuring heirloom beans and popcorn from Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Food of Napa, Calif., as well as air-dried pasta from Brooklyn-based Sfoglini pasta shop and sea salt from Oregon’s Jacobsen Salt Co., as well as other products from across the country.

“We’ll provide what the customers want,” Northcraft said.

Soon, Northcraft hopes to sell fresh produce from the New Roots for Refugees program, a joint program run by Catholic Charities of Kansas City and Cultivate Kansas City which helps refugees learn to farm and bring their goods to market in Kansas City.

“I’ve wanted to work with them for a long time,” Northcraft said.

The store also has several t-shirts, expressing the pride of living in Kansas City. Northcraft currently lives in the Columbus Park, but is looking to soon move into one of the Northeast neighborhoods. Not only is she excited about the future of the East Bottoms, but also the Northeast in general.

“The cool thing about the Northeast is its diversity,” Northcraft said. “We see a lot taking place in the East Bottoms, too. We’ve had overwhelming support so far.”

Urban Provision General Store is open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon – 4 p.m. on Sunday.