Meet Melissa Clement of Mercantile by Farmgirl Foods in Castle Rock

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Clement.

Melissa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m a self-admitted foodie – the kind that just simply adores food. I love to cook it, eat it, shop for it, look at it, read about it, tell people about it, and teach about it. I’ve been obsessed with food for most of my adult life, thanks to some amazing jobs as an Event Planner, which allowed me to travel and eat very, very well.

In 2003, I was laid off from my job in the tech industry and was taking some time off to be a stay-at-home mom. I had three very active boys who were between the ages of 3 and 8 at the time while my husband, at the time, traveled constantly. I needed somewhere to go to meet up with other moms and grab a cup of coffee where people wouldn’t stare as the boys were, well, being boys. A small market and cafe opened at the end of my road and changed my life! It offered food that was local, fresh, innovative, and inviting. The moment I walked in, I knew that THIS is what I was supposed to do for the rest of my life.

I spent the next 14+ years immersing myself in anything food-related that I could find. I watched cooking shows, collected cookbooks, amassed a 5-inch ring binder full of recipes, bought all the food magazines, tried new restaurants, and spent all my extra money on new ingredients; I even went to culinary school. All of this in preparation for the day, I was able to make my dream a reality.

In November of 2017, after a divorce, remarriage and a move to Colorado I found myself unemployed and ready to finally take on the adventure that I’ve been planning for so many years. In January 2018, Farmgirl Foods opened inside The Emporium and had an amazing first year. It was SO amazing, in fact, that in January of 2019 we expanded and moved into Ecclesia Market.

Then COVID hit and we had a couple of amazing months with fantastic new customers, but then the wheels fell off and we had to make the incredibly hard decision to close the shop. Of course as soon as I announced that, God does what he does best – brought someone unexpected into my life. This person had a vision totally in line with me and they wanted me to make the vision a reality. So I have now moved into the old Bennington Mercantile building and created Mercantile by Farmgirl Foods; a year-round indoor Farmers Market that opened on August 7.

Farmgirl Foods was born out of my love for real food and my passion for showing people how easy it is to make and eat, amazing stuff and look forward to helping you make something amazing together in this new season of my adventures in food!

Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing ever goes as planned! Finding local vendors was my first challenge, then expanding into catering and teaching presented more obstacles. COVID certainly threw a wrench into the plans and moving two times in three years was borderline insane, but we have settled into our new home here at the Mercantile and I’m not looking at another move anytime soon!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Mercantile by Farmgirl Foods story. Tell us more about the business.
Mercantile by Farmgirl Foods specializes in finding local food and home goods for the Castle Rock community. We are known for not only our specialty items from abroad but for our locally made bread, meat, eggs, butter, cheese and produce. Our customers know that if they are trying to find a unique gift item OR just a really delicious way to change up their mealtime routine, that Farmgirl is the place to go!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The food industry is constantly changing, and I think that the changes we are seeing are fantastic. Customers are more concerned than ever about what they are putting into their bodies so a main focus at Farmgirl is finding healthy, clean food and things that can address health/diet/allergy requirements.

Moving forward, I see more ready-made meal delivery programs as something that will continue to grow as well as more micro-producers making food products that are widely available.

Contact Info:

• Address: 420 3rd Street
  Castle Rock, CO 81014
• Website: www.farmgirlfoods.com
• Phone: 720-900-8352
• Email: melissa@farmgirlfoods.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mercantilebyfarmgirlfoods/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercantilebyfarmgirlfoods
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/farmgirl-foods-castle-rock

Image Credit:
Melissa Clement

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