The Radius Vision

Radius is a farmer’s market every day at 1912 East 7th St in Austin, TX. We are a whole animal butcher and grocery sourcing local Texas meat, organic produce, dairy, eggs, bread, and seafood plus curated global dry goods — grains, pasta, spices, sauces, chiles, tinned fish, and more.

Radius is the grocery store we wish we could go to. We want to walk into the store and know that all the products are of the highest integrity and good for the body. We want a small store with fresh products sourced from regenerative local farms, not a massive warehouse of dubious commodity non-perishables shipped halfway around the world. No towering center aisles of processed foods, no endless options in every subcategory. We want our meat pastured, grains ancient, and produce glyphosate-free. Is that so much to ask?

We don’t think it is too much to ask, but we know how much work it takes to find the best quality local farms and packaged products. We do that work for you. We prioritize sourcing from farms that strive towards regenerative practices to raise livestock and produce — holistic soil care, pastured livestock, low or no till fields, cover crops, compost fertilizer, crop rotations, water management, and an overall appreciation for the interconnected ecosystem of soil health, water, livestock, and plants. We prioritize sourcing from dry goods companies that take ingredient quality as seriously as we do — no seed oils, artificial ingredients, or GMOs. This is what it takes to heal the American food system.

Eating local, seasonal meat and produce is better for our health, farmers, and the environment. When produce is flown or trucked thousands of miles, they lose nutritional value. Even worse, many fruit and vegetable varieties are grown because they can be transported long distances, not because they’re nutritious or taste good. Reducing the sourcing radius as much as possible leads to more nutritious and delicious food, higher payments to local farmers, and lower carbon emissions. Local, seasonal cooking is creative cooking — it’s more fun to only use broccoli when it’s in season in the winter and spring in Texas, because summer brings peaches, peas, peppers, and much more.  

Finally, it is important to us that Radius does not preach any diet dogma. Whether you follow vegan, carnivore, paleo, keto, plant-based, or any other diet variation, you are welcome here and you will find great products for you. We are committed to finding the best version of the foods you love, not telling you what foods to love. Every body is different. Do what is right for you.

FAQ

Why is now the time for Radius?

• Grocery stores haven’t changed much since the Internet, even though shopping patterns have. Consumers today shop different. They buy bulk and weekly staples online. They go to farmers markets. They care about where their food comes from; they care about regenerative practices and nutrition. A modern grocery store should be designed for these patterns — no hulking center aisles of non-perishables, just a small footprint of local meat, fish, grains, produce, and dairy. 50% of a big grocery store's floor plan is unnecessary if your family orders its bulk non-perishable supplies online. That’s just wasted space that spirals a 10 minute pickup of fresh ingredients for dinner into a 35 minute ordeal of parking, walking the 30,000 square foot floor, waiting in line, and finally checking out. All without much genuine human interaction.
• Farmer’s markets educate Americans about the benefits of buying local, but they don’t have the right customer experience to really succeed. Americans buy under 0.1% of their groceries at farmer’s markets. Why? (1) They aren’t convenient enough. Usually open one or two days a week and closed by 2pm, they don’t match shopping patterns to shop and cook in the same day. (2) There’s a learning curve to cooking with only local, seasonal ingredients. Radius solves both of these problems — it is effectively a convenient daily farmer’s market that educates shoppers on how to cook seasonally. 

What is the store layout?

• The store is designed the same way seasonal meals are designed — start with the in-season produce, pair with a protein, select a starch, and finalize with a sauce or seasoning.
• Browse the in-season produce. Smell it, touch it, sense it. Pick a fragrant vegetable or fruit to plan a meal around.
• Go to the butcher counter and select a protein to pair with your produce. Get advice on proteins, vegetables, and preparation. Design a seasonal meal together with real human conversation and collaboration!
• Select a starch if desired — we have rice, lentils, ancient grains, potatoes, and so much more.
• Select a sauce or seasoning — we have a broad selection of seed-oil free sauces from various cuisines plus all the spices you could dream of, both single-origin and blends.
• Customers can shop in 15 minutes and have genuine interactions with Radius employees to learn about how to cook with local products. It’s personal, not industrial. 

Who is the Radius audience?

Anyone else who cares about health, delicious food, local communities, and the environment! Some specific examples:

• Health and fitness enthusiasts who care about exercise, diet, and an overall healthy lifestyle. If you have cold plunged in the last week, this is you! These folks are at local gyms (Squatch, Functional Patterns, Onnit, Kollective, etc), fitness studios (Sukha Yoga, Ritual Moves Pilates, etc), and wellness centers (Kuya, Ocean Lab, etc).
• Foodies who care about discovering and enjoying the best food in Austin, and particularly care about farm-to-table sourcing. You will find these folks at places like Dai Due, Odd Duck, Olamie, Emmer & Rye, Antonelli’s.
• Localists / Decentralists / Environmentalists who care about supporting local ecosystems. This is an interesting mix of people. It’s crypto enthusiasts, hunters, farmers, environmental advocates. You will find these folks at crypto events, wild game processors, farmer’s markets, and more.

What is the long-term vision and steps to get there?

• Vision: Heal the American food ecosystem by building the next great regional grocery chain that evolves with and amplifies the local, regenerative movement. Steps to get there:
  1. Launch one successful Radius location in Austin.
  2. Run four Austin locations with a central commissary, serve 10k Austinites weekly. 
  3. Expand in the greater Austin metro area. Run 10 locations, serve 50k Austinites weekly (20k weekly customers * 2.6 average family size). 
• If Radius works, other dreams it makes possible:
  1. Run an experimental farm that breeds and raises heirloom meat and produce attuned to the Texas climate, similar to Stone Barns. Partner with local farmers to raise the best acclimated varieties. 
  2. Explore further vertical integration (slaughterhouse, farm leasing).
  3. Scale through educational content, not necessarily more physical stores.

Grocery stores are notoriously difficult businesses. Will the Radius business model work?

Read more about our hypotheses and business math.

About the team 

• Kevin (Founder): I’m new to the food business, but I’m not new to business. Over eight years and various product, marketing, and operations executive roles, I helped build a cloud software company from 4 to 2400 employees, zero revenue to $400M+, and a $10B+ IPO. I had a successful software career, but I'm disillusioned by the increasingly abstract world of software and virtual connection. I want to use my business expertise to encourage local, material living, and I believe that starts with a local, nourishing food ecosystem.
• Joe (Head Butcher): San Antonian and graduate of both CIA San Antonio and Hyde Park. I moved back to Texas after 9 years working in New York City’s restaurant and fine food retail industry. From line cook to cheese wrapper to butcher to general manager, I contributed to A Voce Madison, Marlow & Daughters, Bedford Cheese Shop, and The Meat Hook. I'm excited to bring my passion for righteous farming and craft butchery back home and pursue my dream to open a whole-animal butcher shop.