Tag: Cooper-Young Farmers Market

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First Congo Hosts Global Goods Shop Open House

Global Goods’ fair trade items for sale (Photo: Jackie Nerren)

“Justice here and justice everywhere” — that’s the thinking behind First Congo’s Global Goods shop, says Jackie Nerren, who coordinates the store’s happenings. “We sell stuff that is certified fair trade,” she says. “All the goods have been made under healthy circumstances by adults who are paid a fair wage in the country they come from. Almost all our stuff comes from third world countries, and it’s usually recycled, reused, repurposed materials. We only have one supplier in the states — the [social enterprise] Women’s Bean Project in Denver.”

Because of ongoing renovations, the shop has recently only been open on Sundays, but this Saturday, Global Goods is having an open house and its full stock will be out and ready for the taking. The store will sell bean soup mixes from the Women’s Bean Project, children’s sweaters from Ecuador, wall art made from oil cans in Haiti, baskets from Ghana, and other handmade goods, mostly made by women. “We also sell [Blessed Bees] honey that’s actually made at our church from bees that live in hives on the roof,” Nerren says. “And we sell some fig jam made by a couple at our church.”

The shop’s prices are reasonable, Nerren adds. “We don’t have to make a profit. We barely mark stuff up. It’s pretty nice to be able to help people all over the world. You get cool stuff, and we want people to be able to buy it.”

Global Goods takes cash, card, and checks. After perusing the shop, Nerren suggests heading over to the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market, which is held in the church’s parking lot. “Then you can go eat brunch somewhere on Cooper-Young,” she continues. “See? I’m just planning a great day for you.”

Global Goods Annual Holiday Open House, Sanctuary of First Congregational Church, 1000 S. Cooper, Saturday, November 13, 10 a.m. -2 p.m.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Local Farmers Impacted by COVID-19

COVID-19 is radically changing how local restaurants operate, and, in tow, local farmers are facing mounting challenges as well.

“To be completely frank, it’s run us ragged,” says Scott Lisenby, who operates Bluff City Fungi.

“Our day-to-day operations have changed dramatically almost overnight. We’re running on a skeleton crew, and we’re working at 110 percent to keep up with the almost daily changes,” he says.

Fungus among us: Bluff City Fungi

Local restaurants are reporting dramatic losses in sales, which has had an inevitable impact on the farmers from whom they source their food.

For example, Ed Cabigao, one of the owners of Zaka Bowl, Interim, and South of Beale, has experienced this phenomenon at each of those restaurants — which all source food from local farmers.

“Interim experienced an 80 percent drop in sales instantly,” Cabigao says. “S.O.B. experienced a 30 percent drop in sales initially, and it has now dropped to around 50 percent. Zaka Bowl experienced a 50 percent drop in sales and has held at that.

“Interim was the first concept where we closed the dining room because of sales, and also because it’s pretty clear that the pandemic should be taken very seriously,” he says. “We are right next to a retirement home and a pediatrician’s office, so that helped strengthen our decision.”

The effects of restaurant closures like these have been felt throughout the local farming community.

“Since farming takes months and months of planning ahead, we have tens of thousands of dollars worth of product coming up and no one to sell it to,” Lisenby explains.

“The majority of our business is direct to restaurants and wholesalers, and, understandably so, almost every single one of those streams of income has dried up overnight,” he adds.

“The nature of the restaurant business relies on a constant flow of sales every single day, and when a sharp, unprecedented decrease happens so swiftly, and coupled with the fact that there has been no direction or leadership in terms of when we can expect the pandemic to pass, it forces us as business owners to make very difficult decisions,” says Cabigao.

Though they’re considered essential businesses, farmers markets are having to make tough decisions, too. It was recently announced that the opening of this year’s Memphis Farmers Market (MFM), originally scheduled for April 4th, would be delayed and projected to open on May 9th instead.

“We feel it is our responsibility to do our part to flatten the curve and help stop the transmission of this virus through our city,” says Robert Marcy, executive director of MFM.

“Please know that we made this decision with the entire MFM community in mind, as the health of our vendors, customers, volunteers, and staff is most important, and whatever measures we need to take to ensure their health and safety are the proper ones,” he adds.

Sandy Watson, market director of the Cooper-Young Farmers Market, is also adapting rapidly to changing circumstances.

“This situation can’t help but have a lasting impact — the community has been forced to cook at home more now that restaurants are closed,” says Watson, recognizing that the need to access fresh food is more important than ever.

“Will that continue after this is over? Will restaurants be able to recover from this? Some will not,” Watson says.

It’s not too late to support your local farmers, and many have transitioned to online sales and home delivery.

Lisenby offers his own advice: “Please shop local. Please. Your farmers are adapting to better serve you right now, many will deliver or ship right to your door, many are still working farmers markets with ramped up safety protocols.

“Reach out to your favorite local farms and see what your options are for supporting them,” Lisenby suggests.

Find out more about your options from local farmers markets at memphisfarmersmarket.org and cycfarmersmarket.org, or order from Bluff City Fungi at bluffcityfungi.com.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

The Creamery Memphis: gelato with a twist.

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

What is the most unlikely flavor combination you can think of? Got something? Whatever your crazy idea is, Will Johnson of the Creamery Memphis will turn it into ice cream.

Johnson is a self-taught chef who gained experience working in various restaurants around Memphis, including Stone Soup Café and the former Restaurant Grace. “I don’t have any formal education other than working with some amazing chefs around the city,” he says.

Johnson created the Creamery Memphis two years ago when he began selling wholesale gelato to local restaurants. Then, six months ago, he became certified to sell directly to customers. He has gained a following, selling fresh scoops and pints at the Cooper-Young Community (CYC) Farmers Market and Madison Growler Shop’s new “Beer-lato Happy Hour.”

“I don’t have a store front. I really want to use these venues to force people to come out. I feel if I work really hard on these flavors, I’ll get a little following, and they’ll have to buy tamales, they’ll have to buy tomatoes. You know, you can’t just walk past everything here [at the CYC Farmers Market] and not buy some tamales,” he says, pointing to market vendors near him.

His networking mentality led to a new opportunity last month, when market patron Angelina Mazzanti tasted Johnson’s Guinness-flavored gelato and asked if he had ever considered crafting gelato from local beers. She introduced him to her boyfriend, Madison Growler & Bottle Shop manager Taylor James, and the two men brought “Beer-lato Happy Hour” to the Growler Shop, where customers can taste and buy gelato made with local and regional beers and coffees.

Justin Fox Burks

Will Johnson

Johnson says he doesn’t think ice cream should be limited to the standard flavors. “We’ve run some cool stuff before like charred jalapeno and goat cheese. Our savory items are really fun,” he says. “I just want to open up Memphis’ mind to different types of food.”

Some flavors that have graced Johnson’s creative menu include unique varieties like peanut butter curry, smoked cheddar, and chocolate balsamic, alongside some more familiar flavors like vanilla chai, caramel macchiato, and lemon drop. His Beer-lato menu includes combinations like “Abita root beer with bone marrow” and “Yazoo Fall Lager and popcorn.”

Johnson says he derives inspiration from customer suggestions and from local products and produce. He says the employees at Joe’s Wine & Liquor help him choose the booze for his alcoholic flavors, and he asks James for suggestions for the Beer-lato menu.

“This week, I called [James] up and asked him what kind of beer he would want to drink when eating pancakes,” Johnson says. “It resulted in Shock Top Honey Bourbon Pancake gelato.”

“I take suggestions [for flavors]. Not everything that I make is good,” Johnson says. “If someone wants something, I do it. If it doesn’t sell well, it doesn’t sell well, but that person is guaranteed to come and try their flavor, and if they like it, it’s amazing.”

One attempt that bombed: fried chicken-flavored gelato. “It was awful,” he says. “I used chicken stock, and there was maple syrup in there. I really tried to mimic a chicken and waffles kind of thing. I will never do that again.”

But when it comes to trying out funky flavors, Johnson says the sky is the limit: “It’s kind of like, who is going to stop me?”

So, what is next for this adventurous gourmand? Johnson says he would eventually like to create a non-profit restaurant, but his immediate goal is to open a charcuterie. “I would like to open a charcuterie, doing it really well, on a very small scale,” he says. “Fundamentals of cooking, making things like hand-made tomato paste and encapsulated flavored oils. We can make our own bacon, cure our own meats, and smoke our own fruits and vegetables.”

Gelato from the Creamery Memphis is sold at 30 local restaurants, including Stone Soup Café and Rizzo’s Diner. Stop by “Beer-lato Happy Hour,” Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Madison Growler Shop, or visit Johnson’s booth at the CYC Farmers Market to order a scoop ($3), pint ($5), or gelato sandwich ($4).

To see which flavors will be on Johnson’s menu or to place an order, visit www.facebook.com/thecreamerymemphis.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Pie Happy

CREDIT: Hannah Sayle

We love cupcakes and cookies, but is there any dessert as quintessentially American as a slice of pie? Consider, if you will, the American Pie Council, an organization dedicated to preserving America’s pie heritage. Call us when cupcakes get their own advocacy group.

So we’re fulfilling our civic duty and happily hopping on this summer’s pie-loving bandwagon. First stop: Three pie-preneurs, all found at local farmers markets.

Lazy Dog Farms, located in Bethel Springs, Tennessee, and owned by Bruce and Mary Scarberry, sets up shop every Saturday at the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market, with a range of whole and mini pies to supplement their produce offerings. The couple began the pie part of their business as a buffer until their first wave of crops came in.

Ever since, the Scarberrys have been selling their sweet and savory pies. Try a zesty mojito pie or a savory potato and onion pie, just $13 for a large and $3.50 for a mini. Their best seller? A not-quite Key lime pie, made with real limes but not with the small Key limes that give the famous pie flavor its name. (Lazy Dog Farms, lazydogfarms.com)

At the Memphis Farmers Market downtown, Downtown Pie Company and Grandma’s Desserts keep pie tins stocked and at the ready. Downtown Pie Company is owned and operated by Ann Hearn, who says she’s been baking pies for 40 years. For a while, she baked for a restaurant in Hot Springs, about which a reviewer wrote, “Oh the pie. It alone is worth a trip to Hot Springs.” (Hence their business motto: “Oh the pie!”)

Hearn and her husband can be found at the Memphis Farmers Market every Saturday, selling mini peach, blueberry, blackberry, and coconut cream pies, as well as their famous Lucille’s chocolate pie. You can also order a 10-inch pie and pick it up from their kitchen in Newport, Arkansas, for $14-$20 or a mini pie for $3.25-$5. (Downtown Pie Company, piesrme@gmail.com, 870-495-3894)

Nearby, Grandma’s Desserts has its own line of sweet potato, pecan, apple, peach, and honey walnut pies by the slice or the whole pie. They have samples available before you purchase, and the pies range from $12 to $15. You can order in advance or grab a slice the next time you’re passing through the downtown market. (Grandma’s Desserts, grandmasdesserts.com, 458-2197)

Outside of the farmers-market scene, head to The Pie Folks in Germantown, where owner Audrey Anderson has been perfecting her pie recipes for over a decade. Starting with the Coconut Pie Factory in 1997, she then opened the Pie Folks’ first location in Olive Branch and finally relocated to the Germantown location in 2010.

“Pies are really beginning to come to the forefront,” Anderson says. “We’ve got all these cupcakes and things like that, but pie is a favorite American pastime.”

Walk in Tuesday through Saturday and pick up one of her “Slap Your Mama Chocolate Pies,” a creamy fudge pie that has won multiple awards at the American Pie Council’s National Pie Championship. Or pick up any one of the other 23 flavors, including a coconut cream pie, the Moonshiner’s Bourbon pie, and another award-winner, her Delightful Strawberry Pie. A whole pie will run you between $16 and $18; a half-pie, $9; a slice of pie, $4; and a half-and-half pie combination of your choosing goes for $19. (The Pie Folks, 7781 Farmington Blvd., 752-5454, thepiefolks.com)

And although it’s known for cupcakes with a cult-like following, Muddy’s Bake Shop is also churning out a variety of from-scratch pies every week.

“It’s my favorite thing to make; it’s my favorite thing to eat,” says owner Kat Gordon. “The great thing about pie is it’s totally limitless. It’s food inside of other food! You’ve got a bottom crust, sometimes a top crust, and you can really put just about anything you want in the middle.”

Her pie flavors are as well-executed and adorably named as her cupcakes. Try “Kick in the Pants” pie, a tart lemon butter pie, or “Cocoa Chanel,” a classic chocolate chess pie. In the summer, expect treats like strawberry basil pie or a double-crust blueberry pie. In the winter, try sweet potato, apple with sharp cheddar baked into the crust, or a pie with chocolate chip cookie filling spiked with whisky.

Pies range from $20 to $24 for a whole, $2 for a mini pie, and $3.50-$4 for a slice. Pre-ordering is the best option for whole pies and bulk orders of mini pies, but you can swing in and grab a slice of pie any time the bakery is open. (Muddy’s Bake Shop, 5101 Sanderlin, 683-8844, muddysbakeshop.com)

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Pour One Out

Ever wanted to sample a wine before buying the whole bottle? Seems reasonable, but until earlier this summer if you wanted a test drive you’d have to wait for a special wine-tasting event or hedge your bets on a glass at a restaurant.

June 10, 2011, changed all that. Governor Bill Haslam signed into law a bill that allows for sampling of distilled spirits (beer, wine, and liquor) at restaurants, bars, and liquor stores.

Michael Hughes, general manager at Joe’s Wines and Liquor, has wasted no time getting tastings set up at the store. Fridays and Saturdays from 3 to 6 p.m. you can sample a selection of wines, high gravity (high alcohol) beers, or liquors. They will also have special offers and discounts for purchasing a bottle of one of the sample items during the tasting.

“The law is kind of vague,” says Hughes, who is also the wine columnist for the Flyer. “It doesn’t state that we can only pour between certain hours. It doesn’t state that we can only pour a certain number of days, but it does state that it can only be complementary tasting and that it can only be one-ounce pours of each product that we’re offering.”

Those restrictions don’t seem too onerous, and Hughes is pleased with the new law.

“It’s been a nice thing to be able to offer to our customers an extra bit of service,” he says. “It’s one thing to gain people’s trust and introduce them to a product, but it’s another thing altogether for them to taste it and be able to decide immediately if they like that product and want to take a bottle home.”

So far, Joe’s has offered tastings of of wines, a St. Germain sparkling wine cocktail, margaritas, and beers.

“We’ve got a huge beer selection, so it’s going to be fun to showcase those,” Hughes says.

For more information and details on tastings, check out Joe’s Facebook page or call the store.

Joe’s Wines and Liquor, 1681 Poplar

(725-4252)

This Saturday, July 9th, Drew Barton of the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest will be giving demonstrations of homebrewing at the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market. Barton will be giving general advice, and from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and 10:30 to 11 a.m., he will give specific instructions on brewing.

“It will be a condensed version of [the homebrewing process],” Barton says. “The idea is to show people how easy it is to brew beer.”

So what kind of beer will you be making if you attend Barton’s demo?

“Probably American Pale Ale,” he says. “It’s one of the easiest to get started with.”

Homebrewing kits and ingredients will be for sale at the market. According to Barton, the process consists of four parts: brewing, fermentation, conditioning, and bottling. If you try your hand at it, you could have around 48 bottles of homebrewed beer in as little as six weeks.

Memphis seems to have caught the brewing bug. Barton has been brewing for 10 years, including some time doing professional brewing in Asheville, North Carolina.

“There’s not too much of a brewing community [in Memphis]. There’s basically Boscos and Ghost River, so it’s not as big as some other cities, but it’s got a lot of potential,” Barton says. “I’m working on opening a brewery in town.”

Look for Barton’s booth at this Saturday’s farmers market, and mark your calendars for the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest on October 15th.