April 15, 2025 – A new cashless convenience store has opened in the Dayton Arcade. The owner of Beyond Grocery, Jaye Willoughby, is a proud University of Dayton graduate.
“I’m really excited to be in this space and be able to show people what it means to be a flyer,” Willoughby said.
The Downtown Dayton Business is located in The Hub and offers things you’d find in a regular convenience store: lots of snacks, plenty of drink options, and something sweet too.
“We started with just things that we know that people want, croissants, cupcakes, cookies, honey buns,” Willoughby said.
But you won’t find one thing there: Cash. Beyond Grocery is a completely cashless store.
With UD students being most of her customer base, Willoughby said she wanted to lean into technology.
“They’re into tap pay and whatever’s quick and convenient. So I thought that we would adopt that as well to make it convenient for the students,” Willoughby said.
The focus isn’t just on students, but other entrepreneurs too.
The coffee at Beyond Grocery is from a local business, and Willoughby hopes to add products from other local companies.
“It’s very important for me in this space, with being alumni, with being a local entrepreneur, to support other entrepreneurs in this venture,” Willoughby said. “Because I think that another gap is introducing our products to the 10,000 students that come in and out of the University of Dayton every four years.”
The hope is to create a space that goes beyond just groceries and brew something special.
“We plan to transform this space into something that Dayton has never seen,” Willoughby said.
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