Wednesday, January 27, 2010

officially, I'm pretty sure.

So.

I am pretty sure I'm opening a grocery store in the first floor of our building. On May 1st.

It's something I have not been able to get out of my head in a year, we have a great space for it we're already paying for, and I'm not having a baby anytime soon, so I think I am going for it.

I've kind of been resisting the idea. Hey, we might move to New Zealand! Hey, a novel could sell! Hey, I could lose buckets of money!

But market demand and business plans aside (and oh yes, I have those), there's been a whole lot of things adding up, one by one, to push me in this direction, and I'll tell you that it is a frickin' RUSH to give in and go with it.

I read somewhere that the definition of an artist is someone who sees the world in a certain way, can't find their vision IN the world, and so they create it.

I see the B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery as a big, airy, rough-around-the-edges store that sells local-when-I-can produce, fresh bread (not the fancy kind, but just plain bread and rolls, handmade fried pies, country eggs, Billy Ray's milk in the glass half-bottles, yogurt by the quart container, bulk spices, flour, sugar, maple syrup, local honey, craft/more esoteric beers, funky soda pop, seriously good chocolate, bulk candy, pasta, and rice by the bag. I see it as a place where kids hang out happily in a kids' area while parents shop and there's a few booths for anyone who wants to eat their fried pie or wedge of cheddar right away. I see it as a place where we do deliveries and special orders and don't charge you an arm and a leg just because we've got the best stuff in town. I see it as a place that seriously loves food and hustles to get the hard-to-find stuff: bison salami from Missouri, locally grown strawberries from the Amish.

Wish me luck. There's a lot of hurdles between now and May 1st.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go for it!!
Makes me want to go all the way to Mississippi
to go shopping!Do you deliver?
Best of LUCK and have fun.
Carpe Diem!
I believe in your vision.
e
WHAT is the name??
Need a logo?

natasha said...

AWESOME!!!

best wishes in all your endeavors!
greetings to K A and C.
-n

Sarah said...

I LOVE this idea! It'll be awesome :)

Anonymous said...

Your grandmother,Phoebe would have done the same thing.
Don't forget the lemonade!!
Dad

D'nelle said...

BRILLIANT! Girl, you have more energy in your little finger than i have in my whole body. You totally remind me of this song, "Gillian" by The Waifs.

What an adventure :)

nataliecoughlin said...

Awesome!!
I know where you can get maple syrup and maple candies!!! (they're the most affordable, but overall maple syrup is ridiculously expensive these days!) You can have a candy bar like the Vermont country store! and a deli!.. this is so exciting!
-Natalie

nataliecoughlin said...

and you could also sell beer from around the country now!!!! haha :)

Anonymous said...

I love this business concept! Wish I lived in the area, I would be a regular customer for sure! Wishing you all the best.
-Bridget