Issa Baiz’s family has been in the convenience store business for as long as he can remember. At the age of 6, standing on top of a milk crate to see over the counter, Baiz would assist customers.

Baiz, owner of recently opened Falcon Food Mart, said he thought downtown was lacking this type of store.

‘We came in to town and saw some potential for business,’ he said. ‘We have a lot of experience in this type of business and we saw that in downtown there was nothing like it.’

Baiz said the building, which he thinks used to be a Salvation Army, had to be completely remodeled before opening.

The store, which opened Oct. 31, has a variety of items ranging from groceries to beer and pizza.

‘People can one-stop shop. They don’t really need to go anywhere else, ‘ he said. ‘We have everything that is necessary, except for like fresh fruit and vegetables.’

On top of that, everything in the store is available for delivery.

‘We deliver beer, we deliver groceries, we deliver tobacco. We have anything you really need in the store,’ he said. ‘Also, with a student I.D. we don’t charge any fee right now for delivery.’

Senior Megan Disher said she thinks delivering everything is a good idea, especially for on-campus students.

‘Some people on campus don’t have vehicles or they might not want to take the time to use the buses,’ she said. ‘It is probably cheaper than buying groceries on campus at the food court.’

She said it would also be nice for off-campus students who are too busy to get groceries.

Baiz said the prices are very competitive compared to other off-campus stores.

‘We can’t sell like Krogers and Meijer, obviously, but we keep it at a low margin,’ Baiz said. ‘People can come and take a look around, they aren’t really going to find a place in town that is cheaper.’

Baiz said the store will also accept BG1 soon for everything except alcohol and tobacco.

That includes Falcon Food Mart’s signature 52-inch pizza, which is around 36 slices and is the size of three or four pizzas, Baiz said.

‘We figure it is a party town,’ he said. ‘So we might as well head it with a party pizza.’

The giant pizza is just more convenient to buy for meetings or parties, he said. Despite the size, the pizza is still delivered within a half an hour. It is regularly available for $39.99 but customers will get $5 off for the next month.

Aaron Blanchard, an employee at the Union, said he would probably not be able to eat a 52-inch by himself, but that it seems like a challenge.

‘I would definitely not be shy about trying to attempt it,’ he said. ‘It sounds amazing.”