Shared retail spaces and sheds: smart business ideas in small towns

Becky McCray — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 00:16:58 +0000

Small retail spaces like retail collectives and shed markets generate prosperity for rural areas and small towns when they:

give small business ideas an affordable foothold
create experiences that draw customers in
build on the element of discovery for customers
test promising retail concepts
shelter businesses too small to survive on their own
fill gaps in local retail markets
boost cooperation and innovation among local retailers

But did the COVID19 pandemic change all that? Ecommerce sales are forecast to keep growing steadily after taking a big jump from 2019 to 2020. Has that killed rural retail collectives?

NO.

New shared mercantile spaces

Here are two new shared retail spaces that opened just before or since 2020.

Colfax Mercantile, Colfax, Washington

The Colfax Mercantile first opened in 2019 and made it through 2020. They’re in a building that had sat vacant for 15 years. Now it’s home to 15 different tiny businesses plus an office for the Chamber of Commerce. You can find frozen yogurt, furniture, repurposed, cookies, retro candy and much more in the Mercantile. It took award-winning cooperation between local business owners Laura and Austin Storm and the Colfax Downtown Association’s Economic Vitality committee, add in a little inspiration from a SaveYour.Town visit where we talked about the potential for shared retail spaces.

Special thanks to Sarah McKnight who hosted and sponsored me on my visit to Colfax and provided these photos of their results.

Walker Mercantile Company, Woodward, Oklahoma

Walker Mercantile operates in a shared building in downtown Woodward, Oklahoma. They opened in 2021, and feature many Made in Oklahoma products, a candy shop and other local vendors.

Notice the one wall bookstore in the photo via the Mercantile’s Facebook page. That’s a great example of a business idea that would struggle as a solo business in a small town, but can make sense in a shared space.

New shed market villages

Shed markets continue to pop-up in small towns and rural communities. Here are two recent ones.

Kuna Square, Kuna, Idaho

In 2021, Kuna, Idaho started their own shed market inspired by my retelling of the Tionesta Market Village story at the Idaho Economic Development Association. They built their sheds in a smart way. The City of Kuna partnered with experienced contractors to help teach high school students construction basics including framing, roofing, siding, and flooring. For 2022, they updated their name to Kuna Square, and are definitely planning to be around for many years to come.

Thanks to Kuna Economic Development for the photo.

Pop-up shop market, Guthrie, Oklahoma

Newly announced in 2022, Guthrie, Oklahoma, is starting work on a pop-up shop market using sheds to fill an empty lot in their downtown. They’ve actually done pop-up shops in their park, so moving into a shed market in the downtown makes good sense.

I stumbled onto this one when it was announced on the news that they had received two grants to fund it. This rendering was on the City of Guthrie Facebook.

Discover more

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Cited by:

Retail collectives increase options in small towns, Ag Journal, October 2022

Rural business idea: sell foraged fruits and more

Becky McCray — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 11:08:32 +0000

These apples from a backyard tree might go to waste, or they might be the start of a profitable side business.

By Becky McCray

Need an idea for your next small town or rural business? This one would make a good side hustle: Gather and resell fruit that would otherwise be wasted.

Think of all the fruit, berries and nuts that no one picks, especially in yards and public spaces in your town.

You don’t have to be in a big town, either. In my yard, we have apple, pear and pecan trees that produce far more than we can use. Then there are my neighbors’ half dozen fruit trees, the wild greens and seeds growing along the side of the road, not to mention the wealth of mulberries that drop each year. All that in a community of just 30 people.

It will be different where you live. My friends in Maine talk about gathering and cooking fiddlehead ferns, and Deb learned that you can forage for hazelnuts in Iowa in a workshop from her Legacy Learning group.

You might have heard food gathering called foraging, urban harvesting or gleaning. Whatever you call it, it’s an opportunity for a small business, especially a seasonal or part time gig.

Where to find free foods to gather

You can ask around to find good sources for fallen fruits.

Who has lots of fruit trees in their yard?
Who used to garden but is older now?

Knock on their door and ask for permission to harvest the fruits or plants they won’t be needing. You can even offer to split the harvest: part to them for having the trees or plants, part to you to sell.

You can also look around for fruit, berries or nuts that are free for anyone to take.

Where is fruit falling on sidewalks or over fences into the alley?
Where are berries or nut trees growing wild or in public places?

Look for classes or workshops in foraging or harvesting wild foods. Extension education groups or cultural heritage organizations may offer sessions.

Talk to your elders to learn what they remember about gathering wild foods. My grandmother told me about gathering wild greens for salad back in the Great Depression.

Be good neighbors

Learn to forage safely and for safe foods. Check your library for books about local wild foods you can check out. Ask librarians if they know of workshops and classes. Learn and follow the health and food safety regulations that apply in your area.

Don’t enter people’s private property without permission, of course. Ask permission if it’s not clear where the boundary is or it just seems like you ought to.

Leave some for others. You’re part of a community, so don’t strip shared trees bare or take more than you are pretty sure you can sell. Maybe take special care to leave some easy to reach fruits on lower branches for kids and elders who may come after you.

Be smart business people

Take small steps in your business by gathering a few samples, just enough to sell at the farmer’s market this weekend. Then you’ll have a better idea what and how much to gather on the next foraging trip.

Add value to your wild foods. Find out the health regulations, then try your hand at jams, jellies, roasted nuts or even baked goods.

Wild sand plums make great jelly that’s always in demand in Oklahoma. The bushes grow wild alongside many county roads.

You can add value to nuts like hard shell pecans by having them cracked. Learn how to thresh wild grains to make them more valuable to customers.

Even cleaning and displaying your fruits attractively will add value. Scout around the farmer’s market or grocery store for ideas how to make your own foods sell better.

The types of wild foods available and the ways you can add value to them will vary, so learn from those local workshops and local elders.

I bet you could even sell responsibly foraged flowers.

The county is just going to mow these wild sunflowers down. What if you cut some to sell at the farmers market?

Falling Fruits on the map

There’s a collaborative global map of free places to go look for foods to harvest at FallingFruit.org with entries in most countries including the US, Canada and Australia.

When you find good free food sources, add them to the map. As rural people, we know we depend on each other especially in tough times. That’s a good reason to share what you know.

You’re part of the Food Business Ecosystem

Gathering fruits and berries is just one part of a whole ecosystem of local food businesses. Find out more about creating a local food business ecosystem with this video we created with SaveYour.Town.

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