A hybrid grocery store-food pantry opens in Las Vegas

A new grocery store in Las Vegas opened this week that will serve as a hybrid supermarket and food pantry.

The After Market is located at 4437 N. Las Vegas Blvd., off Craig Road near Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada’s Clark County, which has jurisdiction over the Las Vegas Strip and is the nation’s 11th-largest county.

The After Market is a 4,000-square-foot facility with a goal to “build trust with the community and offer an oasis of opportunity for healthy eating habits to households and communities in food desert populations,” according to its website.

The After Market is a hybrid supermarket and food pantry. / Photo courtesy: The After Market

Residents in the area have been without a grocery store since a nearby Walmart closed in 2016.

“We are located in a food dessert and the nearest grocery store was five miles away,” owner Dewayne McCoy, told WGB. “The After Market serves a dual purpose—it is 80% retail and 20% food pantry.”

The After Market will not sell nonfood items, but rather is a place for those in the community to have access to fresh produce and other grocery essentials—items residents were most thankful for.

“At the grand opening, several people got emotional because they are so grateful to have a grocery store and a food pantry,” McCoy said.  

McCoy said his background paved the way for the new business. “I worked for a food bank for several years and I have experience in grocery as well," he said.

He recalled that working as a bagger for Piggly Wiggly in his youth led to positions of greater responsibility in the grocery space.

“It’s very exciting to welcome The After Market to a neighborhood that hasn’t had a grocery store for several years,” said Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick in a statement. “Best of all, this truly is a community enterprise. The retail store operates like any grocery store while the pantry allows people with limited incomes to get what they need for little or no cost, so they have the dignity to pay what they can afford.”

The After Market is founded and operated by The Foundation Christian Center, where McCoy is the senior pastor. 

The food pantry eliminates needing to wait in line at a food bank. “Those lines scream poverty,” McCoy said, adding that The After Market helps “people feel their dignity restored.”