Back To Our Roots — Episode 4

I want to let you in on something that’s been a big focus behind the scenes lately, our “new” farm store.

Now before you start picturing some shiny, million-dollar retail space with polished concrete floors and fancy branding, let me stop you right there. This isn't that. This new-to-us space is more of a barn cleanup project than a ribbon-cutting event. But it’s also the next chapter in something that means the world to me: reconnecting with the people who trust us to feed their families.

From Tiny Beginnings to a Big Move

When we first opened our teeny-tiny farm gate shop, it was just a little glass-front freezer and a checkout table. If Jay and I held hands, we could touch opposite walls. It was cozy, it was humble, and it did the job.

But then the world changed when COVID hit and suddenly our tiny store meant we couldn’t even follow social distance rules and we couldn’t host the on-farm events we loved. So, like many small businesses, we pivoted. We grew our delivery program and created secret online stores for our regular customers so we could keep them fed while the shelves at big box stores were empty.

And while that shift was necessary, I’ll be honest, it pulled me away from the personal connection that has always been at the heart of what we do.

Why We’re Not Building Fancy

When we started talking about the need for a bigger space, there was a brief moment where we considered building a store from scratch, but I looked at Jay and said, “I don’t want our customers paying for a fancy building.”

What matters to me isn’t branded packaging or custom delivery boxes, it’s putting the very best meat we can into your freezer at a price that reflects value, not overhead.

So instead, we’re giving new life to a 50-year-old barn on the property. It’s not glamorous, but it works. And most importantly, it opens up opportunities for us to do so much more, like finally giving our butchery team the space they need and creating a small licensed kitchen to expand our prepared foods.

Rebuilding What We Lost (and Missed)

This new farm store is more than just retail space, it’s a way to bring back something I’ve missed deeply: in-person connection.

For years, we hosted long table dinners, bacon-making workshops, and chef-led cooking classes, and then, overnight, it all stopped. I didn’t realize how much that part of the business filled my cup until it was gone.

But now? We’re bringing it back.

With the new space, we’re launching something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time: The Seasonal Supper Club. Four dinners a year. Forty guests at each. Local, seasonal meals shared with the farmers who raised the food on your plate. These won’t be big, ticketed events like before instead they’ll be intimate, meaningful, and rooted in the values that started this farm in the first place… oh, and this is the one time we’ll be fancy. We do beautiful when it comes to dinners.