Grocery Life August 21, 2014

Grocery Life August 21, 2014

By Tom Butler

Good afternoon from Butler and Bailey Market. I hope everyone is having a good week. After some strong storms yesterday, the weather so far today has been beautiful.

It has been business as usual at the store this week. I think everyone is starting to acclimate to the start of the school year, and we are adjusting to the changing traffic patterns of our customers due to the school schedule.

This time of year we always have a lot of turnover with our part-time employees. Several of them that worked this summer have gone back to college, started a fall sport, or have too many other school activities to work. We are in the process of replacing them so you will probably start seeing some new faces when you are in the store.

Speaking of employees, Scott, one of the butchers in the meat department got married yesterday. Scott has been with us for several years and he married Heather, who worked here up until about two years ago. The wedding was last night at seven and it was outdoors on a farm in Rockford. I thought there was zero chance of getting through the wedding without getting stormed on, but we all stayed dry. Thank goodness the reception was inside because right after the ceremony it poured down the rain.

It was a really pretty wedding in a beautiful setting, complete with horse drawn carriages.

What made it special to me was seeing so many present and past employees in the wedding party. Three of Scott’s groomsmen were Ashley, Rick, and Alex who work in our meat department and two of Heather’s bridesmaids had worked with us in the past.

I sat and watched with pride at all the relationships that started right here in the store. Obviously, Scott’s and Heather’s turned into marriage but some of their most valued friendships also started here as well. We are a pretty tightly knit group of people here at the store and I hope that reflects in the way we build relationships with our customers. I wish the best for Scott and Heather and look forward to another one of the store romances turning into a wedding.

Getting back to store business, I hope all of you are taking advantage of the locally grown products we have in produce. We are still getting a good variety of things right now but as the seasons start to change, they will no longer be available. Our peach man told us South Carolina peaches will only last a couple of more weeks and I would say the beans and okra will be ending soon after that.

I saw Doug Carnathan the other night. He is a local beekeeper that supplies us with honey. He told me his supplies are still good. We have sold a lot of his honey so I hope his bees continue to keep up.

Our leafy greens from Ecorich Farms in Greenback are really selling well. They are grown aquaponically indoors so supplies should remain good all year. They are growing some kale greens for us that aren’t quite ready yet. Since I eat kale every day, I am looking forward to getting theirs. All of their products are great and I bet their kale will be also.

Erica and I were at a couple of social events this last week and on more than one occasion when we were introduced to people they said “you all are the ones with the Kurobuta pork chops, we love those!” I am not sure Erica wants her identity to be attached to a pork chop, but it just goes with the territory when you are married to a grocery man. She loves those pork chops too so I don’t think it should bother her.

The farmer’s market is still every Friday at Lakeshore Park. I hope all of you are taking advantage of this. I have gone a few times and all of the growers seem really nice and have great looking product. I always see some of our customers when I am over there. They look surprised to see me. I am usually not there to shop; I am there to recruit growers for the store. We have found some great local producers this way and are always looking for more.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thanks for letting us be a part of your community,

Tom Butler

Respond to:tom.butler44@gmail.com

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Butler and Bailey Market

7513 Northshore Dr.

Knoxville, TN 37919

(865)691-8881