"We're really excited to come to the Louisville community," says McLaughlin. "There's a small-town, honest feel here that resonates with our philosophy to support local businesses, farmers and our neighbors. We know there's a lot of interest in eating well and buying local, and we're looking forward to providing clean, honestly grown food for Louisville residents and their families."
The new market, like the original, will stock sustainable, naturally grown and locally sourced products, including humanely raised poultry and meat, Alamosa striped bass, farm-fresh eggs, artisan cheeses, pickled vegetables, preserves, jams and salsas.
The space occupies an old bungalow, and while McLaughlin and Stevenson weren't looking to add a second store, McLaughlin says the opportunity was too good to ignore. "Todd and I were walking down Main Street and fell in love with it, and when we saw the 'for rent' sign in front of the bungalow, it all kind of just came together -- and there's really nowhere in downtown Louisville to shop for good food, especially after the farmers' markets have closed for the season," she explains.
There are marked differences between the market in Highland and the Louisville market -- most notably, the size. While the Wyandot address is a mere 180 square feet, the retail space in the renovated bungalow is 500 square feet. "People can actually stretch out and not hit anything," jokes McLaughlin.
In addition, she says, the new market will sell products sourced from outside Colorado. "We had a lot of customers coming in and asking us if we sold certain products, and when we didn't have them, we, in turn, asked our customers how they'd feel if we brought in food from outside a 250-mile radius," notes McLaughlin, who has strictly enforced the 250-mile rule at her first store. "We're bringing in new items, but they only comprise about 7 percent of our inventory, and while it means going a bit out of our comfort zone, everything that we're bringing in from outside Colorado are things that we simply can't get here, and all of those products are super-traceable, which is very important to us."
When the market opens on Saturday at 10 a.m., several local vendors will conduct product tastings and demonstrations, and there will also be free kids' cooking classes throughout the day, along with a drawing for a free hefty Heritage turkey from Eastern Plains Natural Foods Co-op.
For more information about In Season Local Market, go to www.inseasonlocalmarket.com.
