The Farm Store Officially Opens in Downtown Pottsville

The owners of The Farm Store never envisioned they would open a grocery store in downtown Pottsville when they started selling meat from their Honey Brook Farm in South Manheim Township back in 2020.

This week, however, The Farm Store officially opened its doors to customers at their location at 113 E. Norwegian St. … and yes, it has its own parking lot.

Folks who appreciate the value in locally-sourced products have been enjoying Honey Brook Farm meats for nearly five years and the Mecks have done their best to reach all areas of Schuylkill County since then.

They’ve sold meat directly from their farm and via remote locations but, as co-owner Angela Meck tells The Canary, that wasn’t really gaining as much traction as they hoped.

“We didn’t really say we were going to open a grocery store. We were looking for a place to sell our product,” she says. “We were really trying to get into Pottsville and we just couldn’t find a way to sell food here.”

Why Pottsville?

Meck says the success Honey Brook Farm experienced at the Pottsville Outdoor Market in its first two years of existence really provided the motivation to find a permanent location in the city for their products.

“We just knew there were people here and there was a lot of response on social media to selling our meat here,” Meck says. “Everything here was just amazing and the community came out in full force. Everyone bought from us and it was just fantastic. It was a big leap to make our own store but it’s been really positive.”

The plan to open The Farm Store really came together rather quickly. Meck says she and her husband (and co-owner) Josiah had never even written a business plan before but a few Google searches helped and in December 2023, they were presenting their plan to the Pottsville Redevelopment Authority.

The Redevelopment Authority helped with the purchase of the former bank building on E. Norwegian St.

“At that point, Josiah and I were like, well … now, we’re committed,” Meck says. “This just happened really quickly but we’re committed.”

Last year, the couple won the Ignite Schuylkill business startup competition – and the $100,000 prize – to help with transforming the building from a bank to a grocery, stock its shelves, and pay employees.

Going through the arduous process that led to winning the Ignite Schuylkill competition helped the Mecks refine all their business plans and projections.

“We know what we need to hit as far as targets. We just feel a lot more prepared,” Meck says.

Open for Business

The Farm Store is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. from Tuesday through Sunday. It’s closed on Mondays.

Inside shoppers will find pasture-fed meats from the Mecks’ Honey Brook Farm, including beef, pork, chicken, and lamb. Koch’s Turkey Farm turkeys are also in stock along with Bloomsburg-based Wild for Salmon products.

Produce from local farms and specialty products like locally-roasted coffee, locally-grown teas, and fresh breads from local bakers are also stocked on The Farm Store’s shelves.

Meck says there are at least 30 farms and other vendors who will supply products to The Farm Store.

Supporting local farmers and providing healthy food for Schuylkill County shoppers is the dual mission of The Farm Store.

“Our mission for The Farm Store is to provide an outlet for farmers to sell their product. We know how hard it is as farmers to market your own product,” Meck says. “We know how hard farmers work. We know everything that goes into farming that’s out of your control and it gets overwhelming at times.

“We wanted to create a location where consumers could come and they know what they’re buying and they know that they’re getting products that are healthy for them. They’re not loaded with anything. They haven’t traveled thousands of miles and they’re from people that they know,” Meck adds. “We wanted to be like a farmer’s market all year round.”

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