Acorn update to the community on the new store

Submitted by Kenny Frost, Acorn Farmers’ Market & Café

We at Acorn Market continue to be thankful and appreciative of all of the civic-minded good will we receive every day. From the volunteerism and donations to the kind comments and continued patronage, we are continually uplifted by the residents of Manchester and the surrounding communities. We wanted to provide you with an update on progress at the new store, and what we can all hope to expect.

We are looking at beginning new store operations in March. We apologize for all of the delays thus far, but of course the pandemic has disrupted things for so many people, and we are no exception. Delays in shipping, cost of lumber, and safety precautions have necessarily slowed things down, and in trying to do right by everyone we are proceeding more slowly than we wish. We thank you for your patience and ask for your continued grace and understanding!

Now the good news–the new store will be a completely different and reimagined space with so much to offer the community! The new market is a partnership with the people who own and operate Doll n’ Burgers and Perky Pantry. While we do not speak for them, anyone who has come to expect good things from these popular businesses can look forward to what they will be doing with their space.

In the back third of the building Acorn will continue operating as an indoor farmer’s market. We have a misted produce deck, coolers, freezers, shelving, produce flats and more to display the goods that our vendors bring to us daily. With the added space, we are hoping to bring in more shelf-stable goods from all over Michigan. We are hoping to add pasta, tortillas, cheese, chocolate, and many other items that we haven’t had the space for. While the heart of our business will always be supporting local farmers, we want to offer residents an array of goods that will keep them from having to drive out of Manchester. We will even have gelato made in-house by Iorio Gelato!

The biggest difference to our current model is the addition of an indoor cafe. This of course will open subject to pandemic safety, and might not be operational on opening day. We will have delicious prepared foods to eat or take away, as well as a full espresso bar supplied by Musgrove Coffee from Tecumseh. We hope to experiment with different offerings based on customer feedback, and eventually even add fresh made smoothies.

Store hours will expand greatly, and the current plan is to be open every day. We understand that has been perhaps the single greatest obstacle for the community getting our goods, so we once again thank you for your patience! Hours will likely change as our needs and yours change, so please keep an eye on our website to be as up-to-date as possible.

We have an excellent roster of volunteers, and may be asking for more as our workflow becomes realized. We will also be posting job descriptions soon, and are looking to hire at least one full time and as many as three part time positions. For those interested, you may contact Store Manager Kenny Frost with a resume that includes work experience, references, contact information, availability, and anything else you think might be important for the job. He can be reached at kenny@acornfarmersmarketcafe.org

We hope this update answers all of the questions you might have to the best of our ability. As things change, we will do our best to keep everyone informed. Once again, we sincerely thank everyone, too many to name, for their support.

Store manager Kenny Frost takes a unique selfie in the new cooler cases purchased for the expanded Acorn Farmers’ Market & Café.

Acorn staff and friends are eager to see you at their current location while we all wait for the new store to open! Pictured from left are volunteer Bob Eichinger; Board Vice Chair Theresa Herron; and Store Associate Dana Queen.

 

 

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.