May 4, 2022
Hailing from a small town in Northwest Washington, Ryan and Shannon Parrish have more than 50 years of combined experience in the grocery industry. After years of working for big corporate companies, the pair decided in 2013 to become their own bosses and open a Grocery Outlet, which would be theirs to independently own and operate. They took the big leap of faith and moved all 7 of their children down to San Luis Obispo, CA to do just that, opening their first store in 2014. Their big new adventure in California continued in 2017 as the family sold their first store and moved to San Diego, CA to revamp a store in downtown San Diego.
Finally, the Parrish family had the opportunity in 2020 to sell their San Diego store and open a brand-new store in the area they had always dreamed of: the Lake Tahoe Basin. The family moved one last time to this incredible area that they had been hoping to one day settle in – a small town in the mountains that feels just like their childhood home in the Pacific Northwest.
When we describe Truckee Grocery Outlet as a family business, we mean just that. As mentioned previously, the Parrish family has 7 children in total, all of whom can be found working at the store at some time or another. The five eldest children now all have spouses who have also worked at the store, and you can see the two youngest kids helping bag groceries when they aren’t at school. In short, that makes a total of 14 members of the Parrish family helping at times in different areas of this family business! Over time, Ryan and Shannon have become pseudo-parents to all their staff members as well and consider their entire team to be valued members of their Grocery Outlet Family.
Upon arrival in Truckee, the Parrish family and their crew (the extended Store Family) immediately got to work becoming involved in the community as much as possible, before the store was even ready to open! Deciding to open a new business at the very beginning of the pandemic seemed like a daunting task, but they remained firmly dedicated to providing more reasonably priced food options for locals. From the very start, the Parrish family was passionate about not only bringing affordable groceries to town, but also supporting as many different organizations as possible.
The fact that Truckee Grocery Outlet is a locally owned and small family business has allowed them to contribute in many ways to nonprofits all over North Lake Tahoe – from Incline Village to Truckee and beyond. The staff loves to volunteer at Truckee Day to clean up the neighborhood around the store, and it is an exciting yearly event for them. Other events and organizations they provide volunteers and/or support for include Truckee Little League, Music in the Park, Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe, Truckee River United FC, Sierra Community House, all the local schools, and so much more! Being able to help the community on so many levels has remained a top focus for Ryan and Shannon and is easily one of the most satisfying aspects of owning their own business.
On the topic of affordable groceries, it is important to emphasize the high standard Ryan and Shannon hold concerning the items they order to bring into their store. They pay attention to what the locals desire and work hard to order as many Natural, Organic, Specialty and Healthy (NOSH!) items as they can. They pride themselves on their extensive selection of Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Organic, and Non-GMO products and have multiple special sections dedicated to these types of items throughout the store. On top of their NOSH focus, the owners also cater to those who love entertaining and indulging in fine delicacies, at reasonable prices. They have wide-ranging options of wine and specialty cheese, and even have a “cheese table” in the Deli section that is devoted solely to those fancy cheeses we all love to try!
Ryan orders the wine especially to fit the local palate, and you can easily find $40-$50 bottles of incredible wine for under $10 any day of the week. The Truckee Grocery Outlet is truly a “locals”-focused store, and the flexibility allowed by being locally owned and operated helps make this possible. It has something for everyone, and you never know what exciting new items you’re going to find each time you visit! If you haven’t stopped by yet, you should absolutely give it a try and say hello to the Parrish Family while you’re there!
Ryan and Shannon would like to thank everybody in Truckee for their support during the pandemic and are thankful to be part of such an incredible community. They hope to see you at the store soon!
Truckee Grocery Outlet is located at 11213 Donner Pass Rd. They are open 7 days a week, from 7:00 am – 10:00 pm. Truckee Grocery Outlet now offers Instacart service.
For more store Info and the Weekly Ad with specials, visit their website.
