San Antonio's downtown used to be a 'food desert' without a grocery store to be seen. Now, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports, it is going to get a second full service grocery, and the growing tech community couldn't be happier.
"The companies we see coming in here are exploring San Antonio as a location for their next branch office and relocate their headquarters, that is essential, honestly," said Charles Woodin with Geekdom, the tech incubator, which is headquartered in the Rand Building on Houston Street, not far from where the grocery will be located.
Royal Blue Grocery, a full service boutique grocery chain headquartered in Austin, plans to open a location on Houston Street, in the heart of the city's tech corridor.
Woodin says tech is more communal than most industries, with tech workers preparing to cluster, mainly in urban areas, and having the Royal Blue in addition to the new H-E-B on South Flores, sends a message that downtown is welcoming to new tech firms.
"They have market housing here on Houston Street, and one thing that has been missing is a grocery store."
The move of several hundred USAA workers from the northwest side to downtown, which was announced last week, is an example of the synergies found in clustering tech workers, because, with the knowledge base expanding do rapidly in tech, workers, units, and companies perform better when they work, live, and socialize together in the same area.
And many young professionals in the tech field prefer urban environments, without the need for cars, and services nearby, something Royal Blue will bring to Houston Street.