NewBo City Market to Open Bodega Tuesday

The market's new grocery bodega at its entrance aims to serve a neighborhood the operators describe as a food desert.

Updated on Nov. 15, 2026 in Openings & Closings

NewBo City Market to Open Bodega Tuesday

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NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will open a bodega to shoppers on Tuesday, November 17, 2026. The store sells groceries alongside items already sold at the market and buys local produce from Marion's Sprouts Unlimited.

Why it matters

Ownership says the bodega is needed because the surrounding area is a food desert, with the nearest grocery store about four miles away. The store's hours coincide with market hours, and nine people have been hired so far.

The bodega has hired nine people so far, and the closest grocery store is four miles from the market. The extraction does not report sales targets, revenue projections, or the size of the store.

The players

NewBo City Market

NewBo City Market is a public market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that houses local vendors and anchors the city's NewBo district.

Marion's Sprouts Unlimited

Marion's Sprouts Unlimited is a local produce supplier in Marion, Iowa, whose products the bodega buys for sale.

The details

The bodega sits at the entrance of NewBo City Market and is part of a project that began in 2024, which includes a large mural inside the market. It does not sell perishable items such as ground beef, a decision the operators say avoids food waste costs.

2024: Bodega project began.
Tuesday, November 17, 2026: Bodega opens to shoppers.
2027: Planned outreach to Linn County farmers.

Market Landscape

The bodega follows a pattern of small-format grocery stores opening in areas the USDA Economic Research Service classifies as low-access food deserts. Its local-produce sourcing from Marion's Sprouts Unlimited places it within the growing market for food sold close to where it is grown.

Shoppers at NewBo City Market gain a grocery option at the market entrance, with the store selling groceries alongside existing market items. The bodega does not sell perishable items such as ground beef, so shoppers will need to buy those elsewhere.

The takeaway

A bodega stocked with local produce can fill a gap in areas farther from full-service grocery stores. Shoppers planning regular grocery trips should note which items the store does and does not carry.