Corner Grocery opening part of church, pastor’s vision

ALBANY — “This,” Pastor Solomon Loud Jr. proudly proclaimed, “is for the neighborhood. This is for change.”

Loud made the comments Saturday as he cut the ribbon signifying the opening of the New Beginning Corner Grocery Store at 219 North Monroe St. in Albany. The neighborhood grocery store is the centerpiece of a renovation project being undertaken by Loud and members of the nearby New Beginning Missionary Baptist Church family. The wide-ranging effort is part of a “vision” Loud said he received from God years ago.

“God gave me a vision for this neighborhood nine years ago,” the minister said. “What we’re doing today is only a part of the overall picture. We’re reclaiming this neighborhood for the people who live here.”

As Loud lays out his vision for the 200 block of North Monroe, he points proudly to the series of small storefronts that run adjacent to the Corner Grocery. Included are a barber shop, a beauty salon and Donte’s Fashions. Above the ground-level storefronts is a series of one-bedroom apartments that New Beginning plans to market and rent.

“Over there is a 24-hour day care, that’s a DUI school, and there’s office space we’ll rent in that building across the street,” Loud said. “We have a concessions trailer where we’ll sell food here and at various other locations in town, and we’re going to turn that building over there into a preschool.”

Loud’s wife, Flossie Loud, said Saturday that she, her husband and New Beginning is in the process of changing lives in their community.

“This feels great, it’s awesome,” Flossie Loud said as a small neighborhood crowd gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Corner Grocery. “By doing God’s work, we’re giving back to our community and changing people’s lives.”

Ward III Albany City Commissioner B.J. Fletcher was on hand for Saturday’s ceremony. She praised Loud and New beginning for the work they are doing in her ward.

“These folks are the real deal,” Fletcher said. “They did all this themselves, as a calling. This is the kind of grassroots movement that we need for improvement to take place in our community.”

Loud said the work he and New Beginning Baptist’s church family have taken on is an effort to rebuild the community, one neighborhood at a time.

“Not only have we put real businesses in those (formerly) abandoned buildings, we’ve created more than 30 part-time and full-time jobs,” the pastor said. “When God gave me a vision of what our neighborhood could be, we started buying the property in the area around our church and rehabbing it. We’re excited about what’s going on in our neighborhood.”

Loud said the Corner Grocery store will carry fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade cakes and desserts — whole or by the slice — and other staples. The store offers free delivery for orders of $20 or more within the Albany city limits.

For information, contact Loud at (229) 376-8918.