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Krankies finds a niche with farmers market
Journal Photo by Walt Unks
Customer Antoinette Van-Riel (left) waits for Kay Owen of Pfafftown to pull heads of bok choy at the farmers market.
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Published: May 27, 2009
There are a lot of things you can't buy at the new farmers market at Krankies Coffee: corn from Florida, tomatoes from Georgia and peaches from South Carolina. You can't buy jewelry, handmade bookmarks or a bunch of sweets.
What you can buy is food that is local, seasonal and certified to have been grown using organic or sustainable agricultural practices.
All those other items can be found at many farmers markets, such as the Downtown City Market. But Krankies is out to do something different -- what you might call a literal farmers market for purists. And it seems to be working.
An incentive for growers
Last week, the market was bustling. As the aroma of roasting coffee beans wafted through the air, shoppers chose from an array of freshly picked greens and more.
The market, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays at Krankies, 211 E. Third St., is an unusual partnership between Krankies' owners and the Triad Buying Co-op Inc.
When the co-op started considering weekly orders of fresh produce, it approached Krankies about using the coffeehouse's space for pickups. "A lot of people were interested in having a presence downtown during the week," said Matt Mayers, the chairmen of the co-op's board.
Once Krankies agreed, Mayers and the co-op found a handful of farmers and verified that they practice organic or sustainable farming. Mayers asked them to not only supply the co-op, but to also set up tables to sell their food at Krankies.
"The pre-orders are a good incentive for them to come," Mayers said.
Two hours well-spent
Harvey and Susan Moser of King said that because they deliver produce to the co-op at Krankies anyway, it makes sense to spend a couple of hours selling to the general public. "It's like icing on the cake," Susan Moser said.
Cindy Conti of Sanders Ridge Farm in Boonville said she likes that the market is just two hours.
Gary Owen, who grows vegetables in Pfafftown, said that the market and co-op combined have been buying up much of his spring crop.
The other week, greens dominated the selection, as well as tomato and herb plants, because that's what is in season. The farmers also had plenty fresh radishes and spring onions.
Even if I didn't care about the growing practices, I would go to Krankies for some things you don't usually see at other markets. The broccoli that Owen grows is hardly exotic, but you don't see it much at either the downtown or fairgrounds market.
The Mosers had bok choy and toy choy (two kinds of Chinese cabbage) as well as fennel fronds last week. The week before, they had arugula. Conti had mizuna and sensopai (two kinds of Asian greens) as well as Swiss chard -- and I had not seen them before at local markets.
The market also had eggs and lamb from Mountain Memories Farm in Elk Creek, Va., and cheese from Goat Lady Dairy in Climax. Krankies is also selling grass-fed beef from Grayson Natural Foods in Independence, Va.
Greater variety of produce, meat, cheese and organics are just the things that people tell me they wish they could get at other markets in town.
Even though the Krankies market is just 4 weeks old, it seems to be carving out a niche.
John Bryan, a partner in Krankies, said that the grower-only market fits with Krankies' approach and its customer base. "We want to offer fresh, organic as much as possible and hand-crafted products," he said.
Conti noticed that Krankies has a younger crowd than many other farmers markets. "My clientele loves Krankies Coffee," she said. "So (our customers) are really one and the same. The people here are already into sustainable food."
Bryan said he's not trying to take away from the other markets. But, he said, Krankies wants to support a market where the grower gets the credit.
The grower-only restriction resonates with some customers. "I appreciate that someone certifies that," Barbara Lawrence said. "I really want to buy directly from farmers."
Lawrence said she was so excited to find local lamb at the market that she bought $80 worth.
Brian said he thinks the demand for local food and farmers markets is growing, and I think he's right. There's room for a new kid in town.
I'll definitely put Krankies on my list of places to shop. I'll also keep going to the farmers markets downtown and at the fairgrounds. Plenty of farmers attend those markets. If you ask, vendors usually will give you an honest answer about whether they grew something or not.
But for a look at a market of solely seasonal food, check out Krankies on Tuesdays.
■ Michael Hastings, the Journal's Food editor, can be contacted by phone at 727-7394, e-mail at mhastings@wsjournal.com, or mail at c/o Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. His most recent columns can be read on our Web site at www.journalnow.com.
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