The Royal treatment

photo / Leah Moss Royal Blue’s George Scariano 

I swung by Royal Blue Grocery a few months ago when I was on my way to Republic Square Park, book in hand — the shiny, little shop at Third and Lavaca looked promising. After picking out a couple of drinks and a bag of cookies, I headed to the check-out line. But when the tall man behind the counter swiped my credit card — oops — I was declined.

I still went to the park, though. And I still ate cookies and drank my beverage. All because that nice tall man behind the counter, Royal Blue owner George Scariano, saw something in me that said, “This guy is going to pay me back one of these days.”

I didn’t pay him back until last week, but still, George is smart. He knows that being grumpy about a measly 10 bucks isn’t the way to do business. When I stopped in to pay my debt, George, a New Orleans native and full-time Austinite since 1988, and I sat outside the store with a couple of pigeons and the calm purrs of Third Street traffic.

George explained that the average customer is just as likely to be picking up a fancy bottle of champagne as they are a small bag of chips; that contrary to popular belief, Royal Blue is not exclusively organic; that new locations are definitely on Scariano’s mind, but he plans on being very cautious on when and where that will be; that the most customers they’ve had in a day was on New Year’s Eve (1,700); and of the 300 or so people who visit the store every day, roughly 15% are first-timers.

Royal Blue’s goal, explained George, is to be a pocket-sized grocery store that serves daytime workers and nighttime residents with the essentials, along with prepared foods and gourmet items.

“Being surrounded by tenants and office workers makes the grocery store feel like a ‘downtown neighborhood’ on the inside,” said George. “We see our regular customers several times a day, so we’re on a first-name basis with most of them.”

As our talk wrapped up, George bolted mid-sentence toward a runaway newspaper skating across the sidewalk. He made the save, sat back down, and explained that he doesn’t want trash hanging out in front of his store. He headed back to work after thanking me for paying my debt.

I stayed outside and reviewed my notes while, no lie, every person who walked by was telling their friend, co-worker, whoever, how nice the Royal Blue Grocery is. So if you’re ever in the neighborhood and you need to pick up some toothpaste, some bread, some wine, or some ice cream, you’d better go get it from George. Word travels fast.