A new grocery store officially opened in Northwest Roanoke, offering fresh produce, quality meats, and name-brand grocery items to a neighborhood that has long struggled with access to healthy food.

Northwest Roanoke has been considered a food desert for the last 40 years- and the new Market on Melrose is looking to provide fresh food at affordable prices closer to home for the community. Leaders from across the valley gathered on Wednesday to cut the ribbon on the 15,

People who live in a food desert neighborhood in Roanoke now have access to a full-service grocery store. Customers began lining up outside the new Market on Melrose hours before it opened Wednesday.