New beginning: True Bakery owners buy Casper’s historic Grant Street Grocery

CASPER, Wyo. — A new chapter in Grant Street Grocery’s century-old story is set to begin.

The historic neighborhood store has been purchased by True Bakery from its current owners, Lindsey Grant and Susan Holmes. The store is the lone survivor out of dozens of neighborhood grocery stores that once dotted the Casper area. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018.

Bill Brockley Jr. and fiancée Emily Harris launched True Bakery out of their apartment nearly five years ago. Since then, the bakery specializing in their own sourdough recipes has opened a space in the Wolcott Galleria downtown, where they sell sandwiches, soups and baked items with nearly all fresh, house-made ingredients.

Grant Street Grocery was put on the market in May 2023, and Bill was approached by its owners a couple of months ago.

“They said, ‘So how do you feel like owning a business inside of a building, and also the building?'” Bill said. He was immediately interested.

Lindsey said she and Susan weren’t just interested in selling the store, but wanted to make sure they found the right buyer to take it into the future.

“Obviously, keeping it local was the ideal situation,” Lindsey said. “Finding the right fit for the business that would keep it Grant Street Grocery & Market and not change it into something that was a complete departure from the historic roots.”

Lindsey and Susan were among a group of friends-turned-investors living in the neighborhood at the time who bought the store after it closed suddenly in 2016. “We all knew each other through the symphony, and that was kind of how our relationship and friendship started,” Lindsey said. Terry and Del Johnson were also involved and later sold their shares to Lindsey and Susan, and Susan’s husband, Doug Holmes.

“It’s been quite the adventure,” Susan said.

The building they purchased and rescued from oblivion was not just historic, but it was also very tired. With no substantial updates in decades and a slew of serious issues — including foundation damage, obsolete HVAC, sewer and electric and cramped food prep areas — the team decided to do a complete gut rehab on the building and reopen as a boutique market.

“It’s been such an honor to revitalize this for the community,” Lindsey said. “This is something that’s been here for 107 years, and when we came together as a partnership to do this, it was imperative that we build something that will last for another 100 years. It was never going to be in our hands forever, so it was important to set this business up for success for the next generation.”

Fans of both True Bakery downtown and of Grant Street Grocery can expect things to stay the same for the time being.

“All of the [Grant Street] staff is gonna stay,” said Bill. “We’re keeping them, and will be doing the exact same things like take-and-bake meals, sandwiches and the like. We will be implementing our own products into those sandwiches, like our sourdough breads and house-made condiments, things like that.”

Bill grew up in Oregon and settled in Casper during the pandemic, when he met his fiancée and business partner Emily. The two now have a young daughter together. While he grew up elsewhere, the history of Grant Street Grocery is already close to home.

“I grew up on the corner on Grant Street,” Emily said. “When I lived here, we used to put stuff on a tab, and sometimes they’d grocery shop for you.”

“I love that part of this new ownership,” said Lindsey. “It’s family-owned, along with her history shopping here as a kid.”

“I just want to keep it the same, and just let it be Grant Street Grocery like it’s been for over 100 years,” Bill added.

As it traditionally does, Grant Street Grocery closed after the new year for a couple of weeks for a post-holiday regroup and inventory work. It will reopen under its new ownership and its regular hours on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

More information on Grant Street Grocery & Market, including operation hours and specials, can be found on Facebook and at its website.