Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley just opened a second free grocery store in Nashville — is this a model other cities can copy, or does it only work with celebrity money behind it?
Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley have pledged $1 million toward a second free grocery store in Nashville, following their first location. The model: shoppers referred by nonprofits shop for what they need, no checkout, no bill. I love the idea, but I keep coming back to the math. A free store still pays rent, suppliers, and staff. A $1 million pledge covers a buildout, but what covers restocking in year two and year three? Has anyone seen how the funding actually works — donations, grants, corporate partners — and could a regular city copy this without a famous couple attached?
1 answer
- Follow the restocking money
Free at the shelf is not free to run, and that is the whole question. A $1 million pledge is seed money, not a business model. Before anyone calls this replicable, I want to see who pays the suppliers in year three: recurring donors, a corporate sponsor, a grant that renews, or what. If the answer is just more celebrity checks, then it is charity, which is fine, but it is not a model other cities can copy.