Our Story

Local First Market started with a simple realization: shopping local should be easier.

Before we ever thought about opening a market, we were small business owners ourselves. Through building Sharp’s Soap Co., selling at markets, working with local retailers, and getting to know other makers and producers, we saw firsthand how much incredible food and useful everyday goods are being made right here in our region.

We also saw the problem.

For customers, supporting local often means driving to multiple farms, shops, markets, and pickup locations. For small producers, reaching enough customers can mean juggling farmers markets, wholesale accounts, online orders, deliveries, and everything else that comes with running a small business.

There was so much good stuff being made locally — but no simple, year-round way to bring it all together. That’s where the idea for Local First Market began.

We wanted to create the kind of market we wished existed: a place where you could pick up produce, pantry staples, household essentials, and products from local makers in one stop. Not just special-occasion purchases, but the things families actually use every week.

And we wanted to build it in a way that makes sense for small producers, too.

We believe shelf space is a community asset. When we choose what to carry, we have an opportunity to help a farmer grow, give a maker access to new customers, and keep more of our everyday spending circulating closer to home.

We’re beginning as a mobile market because we believe local food and goods should come closer to the communities they serve. We’ll start small, learn from our customers, build strong relationships with producers, and grow thoughtfully from there.

Local First Market isn’t about making everything perfectly local. It’s about asking a simple question first: Can we find a great version of this closer to home? When we can, that’s where we start.

Supporting local businesses shouldn’t be difficult. Good food shouldn’t require five different stops. And shopping in a way that strengthens your community should fit into everyday life.

Local goods. Healthier homes. Stronger communities.

We’re Brent and Tessa — parents to three daughters, small business owners, and the people behind Local First Market.

After years of building our own small business and getting to know other local makers, growers, and producers, we kept seeing the same need: incredible local goods were all around us, but finding and buying them year-round often took more time, driving, and coordination than most families realistically have.

Local First Market grew from that idea — creating an easier way to shop local, support small businesses, and bring more of those everyday goods together in one place.


We’re building this slowly and thoughtfully, with both our family and yours in mind — creating a market we’d genuinely want to shop ourselves, and hope you will too.