Choice Market Partners With Venture Capital Firm for Expansion

DENVER — Choice Market entered into an agreement with venture capital firm M3 Ventures to support expansion, starting with the opening of a second storefront.

The new Choice Market will be located on the ground floor of the new Denver Housing Authority (DHA) headquarters in the mixed-income neighborhood of Mariposa, Colo. It is expected to open during the first quarter of 2019.

"Our mission from day one was to make good food accessible and convenient. By partnering with M3, we are able to leverage their extensive knowledge, resources and network to help us scale our business,” said Mike Fogarty, founder and CEO of Choice Market. "We couldn’t be more excited to join the family of like-minded brands within the M3 portfolio."

The first-ever Choice Market opened in downtown Denver on Oct. 13, 2017. The convenience store is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and focuses on three key differentiators: fresh, local and on-demand.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Choice Market as they open this second location," said Martin Dolfi, founder and managing partner of M3 Ventures. "Choice fits in seamlessly to our own ideals, so the decision to work together was a no-brainer. Providing healthy, fresh food in a modern convenient way is something we are looking forward to exploring with them as we grow together."

Choice is currently working with the Denver Housing Authority and Youth Employment Academy to build its second location on the bottom floor of the new DHA headquarters, located at the 10th and Osage light rail stop in Denver. In addition to providing the mixed-income neighborhood of Mariposa with fresh produce, healthy groceries and homemade prepared food, Choice will hire and train at-risk youth from the neighborhood and prepare them for a career in the culinary arts.

"Affordable housing and availability of fresh food has long been an issue for many Denver communities, and we are honored to partner with two great organizations that have done so much to help address these issues and who share our common goal of making good food accessible," Fogarty commented. "Our vision for Choice has always been to curate a product selection based on the needs of the neighborhoods we serve and allow our customers to dictate what goes on the shelf, not vice versa." 

DHA Director of Real Estate Development Ryan Tobin added: "Addressing our community needs has been a priority goal since day one in Mariposa, and creating an attractive opportunity for an operator as unique as Choice is exactly what this effort was about. Choice will have a positive impact on so many levels, and we welcome the partnership and are looking forward to celebrating food and education in Mariposa.”