What do you do if you've lost your business and have come to a crossroads in your life?

For Vik Puri and Nikhi Aum, the answer was to try and live by their core values and do their absolute best to give back.

The couple will be opening a new healthy foods store called Martin's Way at the corner of Findlay Street s.w. and s.w. Delridge Way in early February, inspired by their heroes Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi. It will operate as a non profit.

The store will offer fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, rice, beans, as well as Stumptown coffee plus a remarkable array of spices ranging from jalapeño peppers, cardamom, bay leaves, and star anise to a series of gourmet flavored salts.

In 2008 Puri and Aum who had been living between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. realized that the printing business they owned in Vancouver was no longer viable. A combination of changing technology and the recession meant they had to close their doors, sell their home there and try to regroup in Seattle. Puri had previously started another business in Seattle, Orthosys, selling durable medical equipment i.e.; braces, crutches and wheelchairs. But a rule change in how hospitals could prescribe and also supply the equipment meant that business would no longer work either. For next two years they worked, when they could at hourly wage jobs, but they nurtured a dream.

Though both of Indian descent, they always admired the words and wisdom of Martin Luther King and another hero of theirs Mahatma Gandhi. They knew that the lives of these men were examples of how to both express gratitude and to offer something of value to the community.

"It came down to this. You're not going to take it with you and what do I leave behind? Where were we in life? We were down. What do we do? I believe the way to pick yourself up is, in the process of picking someone else up too. What do you do with limited capital? (...) If you are a social being then you should help others."

Last year Puri was volunteering with a West Seattle non profit organization called Sarvaane that is an elderly day care for people of Indian origin. It is located in a house on s.w. Findlay Street. He felt their focus as an organization was too narrow and urged them to become more involved in the community.

The house had a large front yard and the couple's idealism and dream came together when he suggested that he could build a store on that land. The principals Sonya Bhaskar and Nishi Ahluwalia agreed to make it available and through the help of two private investors Puri proceeded to build the modern, building there today. But Sarvaane had one condition. The store had to offer only healthy foods.

That worked perfectly for Puri and Aum.

"I felt I could do something for Delridge," said Puri,"You can buy cigarettes, you can buy beer at several places in this area. But healthy foods are hard to find here." Martin's Way will sell no unhealthy products. No tobacco, no beer, no prepared foods What the store will sell is packaged very simply in plastic envelopes, bags, or containers and Puri said prices are up to 30% less for spices, and some staples. The suppliers are all local. As the store opens there are no refrigerated foods but only because there is no equipment for it. Puri is seeking help with this and would appreciate any assistance from the community.

Puri also has a strong belief in American values and capitalism. He's upset by the decline of the American middle class and even wrote in a personal blog about his concerns at http://nominnow.blogspot.com/

"I think every American should go to India to see what outsourcing means," Puri said. "I'm an American and I love this country."

The couple have also been working on remodeling a home in West Seattle.

The store will be open at first from 2pm to 7pm and will slowly add more products and make other improvements. There is no signage at this time but a large mural now decorates the north side of the building, making it an unmistakable landmark. So, while the mural is bright and bold, the building, it's products, purpose and owners are more understated. Puri is not interested in personal publicity.

He'd rather focus on what he and his partner can do to provide healthy alternatives for Delridge and the rest of West Seattle.

The store is so new there is no website but the Facebook page is up now and you can contact Puri via email at vikpuri@live.com.