Bob Stone got his first taste of the Strip District when he was a young teen who loaded produce into pickup trucks or flatbeds that trolled city neighborhoods looking to sell it. Mr. Stone often doubled as a delivery boy on those trips.

Nearly four decades later, Mr. Stone is back in the Strip, again hawking produce, this time as president and director of operations for Right by Nature natural foods market, a 22,500-square-foot grocery set to open Thursday at Smallman and 23rd streets.

"It's kind of strange how everything's gone full circle," he said yesterday as he prepared for the grand opening.

Mr. Stone is billing the new store as a full-service natural foods grocery. There will be organic fruits and vegetables, natural meats -- in fact, virtually every product in the store will be organic or natural, he said.

At the same time, he is promising that the organic and natural selections, often pricey compared to their counterparts, will be "affordable" to all shoppers and cheaper than the competition's. The goal, he said, is "to make fresh, healthy food available to everyone, not just the affluent."

"It's going to open a lot of eyes," he said. "People are going to be very surprised about how affordable the food can be."

Mr. Stone said he can do so by buying directly from farmers and producers he has come to know over two decades as a buyer for grocery chains and organic food distributors.

Among its amenities, Right by Nature will have a cafe offering prepared foods, a salad bar and soup bar for eat-in or takeout, and fresh baked goods. There also will be curbside parking for those ordering takeout.

The store, next to the Cork Factory apartment complex, will be on the ground floor of a three-story structure that will have two levels of parking, about 300 spaces in all, with about half covered. Shoppers can take elevators directly into the store.

With so much emphasis on organic and natural, shoppers might not find as many national brands as they would in more traditional groceries. However, Mr. Stone said the brands that will be offered are well-known throughout the country and are not low-priced knockoffs.

"There will be brands people will recognize. You're not going to see Oreos. You're not going to see Pepsi. You're not going to see Coke. [But] you haven't lived until you've tasted China Cola."

The store will be located within walking distance of the Strip's bustling Penn Avenue commercial corridor and its produce terminal.

While Right by Nature might create some competition with those vendors, Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip, sees the store contributing to the neighborhood's uniqueness.

"It's a good thing. I don't know if everyone in the Strip feels that way, but I think there are a lot of positives and I think it will complement what we have here," she said.

The total project cost more than $3 million, the majority of it financed privately, although there were some state grants and loans involved. Mr. Stone is partners in the venture with five other local businessmen.

During its first week of operation, the store will donate a portion of its daily sales to seven area charities. The store will employ 110 people, about 70 percent of them full-time.