Blue Market AK opens retail store in Anchorage

It started as a pop up and now it's found a permanent home. Blue Market AK's new location is more than just a retail store. It's an experience and the owners behind it share the same passion, but different reasons for getting behind its cause.

Tucked away in Spenard, Blue Market AK is being called Anchorage's first neighborhood "unpackaged refill" store. Everything from soaps and shampoos, toiletries and household goods, owners Jess Johnson and Jennifer Gordon are doing their part to reduce the carbon footprint.

"It's sort of a one stop shop for a place where you can get sustainable goods," said Johnson.

"Everything that you can see along this line was given to us," added Gordon referring to the wooden shelves used to hold some of the store's goods.

What started as a cart at farmer's markets around town has grown into so much more.

"We kept having the same customers come back again and again and by the end of the markets a lot of people were asking us where can we find you this fall winter," said Johnson.

That enthusiasm along with a fundraising campaign allowed their customer base to have something to call their own.

"We're looking for things that are either unpackaged or in compostable packaging and we consider that from the very beginning," said Gordon.

Not just business owners, the two also see themselves as consumers with their own reasons for wanting to make a change.

"Sort of citizen of the world and as a mom of a 6-year old I'm trying to set a good example for him," said Johnson.

"For me it came from plastics in the ocean, that's where the name came from, blue planet, blue ocean," replied Gordon.

Still in its early stages, the goal is to eventually become a one stop shop for sustainable goods, but for now Gordon and Johnson are happy with being able to offer an alternative to those wanting to do more.

Blue Market AK eventually wants to offer a space for local makers to sell their goods and down the line offer workshops, lectures and more.

to find out Blue Market AK's limited hours through the holidays and when it expects to open as a full grocer.