by Dorothy Puch Lillig

Have you gained the “Quarantine 15?” You’re not alone. Even in the best of times, processed and unhealthy foods command our attention. And now, with COVID-19, life has been disrupted in a major way.

Exercise routines are altered. Stress has escalated. Comfort foods are more popular than ever.

Banana bread, anyone?

Now is the perfect time to check out the Spring Branch District’s Nourish Market, a small shop filled to the brim with healthful choices from local and organic produce to supplements to quick — but nutritious — meals.

It won’t even feel like a sacrifice if you can take comfort in local and fresh foods like homegrown cucumbers, tomatoes from Spring, figs from Katy and peaches from Fredericksburg, all of which the market has recently advertised on its frequently updated Facebook page.

“Our family-run store is a daily farmer’s market,” Nourish Market proclaims on its website. “We reach out to local farmers, beekeepers, bakers, chefs, and other businesses to find the best quality products for you and your family.”

The shop offers local, natural and organic food for cooking and snacking, while Nourish Market’s prepared foods offer simplicity and convenience for any eating lifestyle including sugar-free, gluten-free, paleo, primal, raw food, and vegan. And they also have a diverse collection of natural, chemical-free personal care products, locally roasted coffee, bulk teas and herbs, bulk nuts and dried fruits and much more.

Nourish Market may be new to some but it’s not new to the Spring Branch area, and the history of the market spans half a century. After a few years as Georgia’s Farm to Market, they changed their name to Nourish Market, located at 1260 Blalock, Suite 130, near Super H. The store is easily accessible from Blalock or Adkins Road.

Some who have been around a while may remember a tiny 1,500-square-foot grocery in 1968 located very close to the current Nourish Market.

In 1968, according to the Nourish Market website (which is full of history for those interested), Elmo and Gigi Troup founded the Ye Seekers grocery chain that led the health foods frontier in Houston for decades. A few years later in 1973, the Troups expanded by buying a space vacated by a Piggly Wiggly Supermarket just a block up the street on Westview at Blalock.

Over the years, the brand expanded and, by the 1990s, had three locations at Westview, in Katy, and at Bellaire and Weslayan.

After Elmo Troup’s death in 1982, Chuck Rolland, the Troups’ son, ran the business. In 1991, leaving to return to running his own business, Chuck turned the reins over to his son, Richard Rolland. In the late 1990s, the 3-store chain’s reign as the top health-conscious brand in Houston waned as competitors moved in. Eventually, the Westview location closed.

Fast forward through lots of changes in ownership and consolidations to early 2014 when Candy Montano opened the new health store in Spring Branch. According to the Nourish Market website, Candy had worked for Ye Seekers since age 16 and continued her career throughout the changes in store offerings and names, eventually becoming sole proprietor of Georgia’s Farm to Market and realizing her dream of running her own wellness-focused store.

When she lost her lease on the initial location of her store, she coincidentally leased a location on Blalock south of Westview nearly across the street from where it all began for the Houston wellness movement and for Candy. She chose the name Nourish Market and said she specializes in listening to the needs of the whole being: “mind, body, & soul.”

As Candy says on the store website: “Our market staff can help you reach your goals and naturally remove obstacles standing in your way.” So, push aside that banana bread and head over to Nourish Market today.

Nourish Market
1260 Blalock Rd., Suite 130
Houston, TX 77055
http://nourish-market.com
Open 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. M-F; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday