Greens N’ Grains

 

Store Name Greens N’ GrainsBusiness TypeFood and Beverage Stores

NAICS Code 445

Location 7821 Highway 42, Egg Harbor, WI 54209

Nearby Businesses Roundy’s (large regional grocer)

Owner/Manager Kathy Navis

Special Store Activities Bi-weekly email newsletter, host classes on home grown food

Year Opened 2006

Website http://greens-n-grains.com/

Phone 920-868-9999

E-mail n/a

Community Profile Egg Harbor, Wisconsin (population: 280; ten-mile radius: 5,245) is a village in Door County on the Green Bay shores of Lake Michigan, 18 miles north of the City of Sturgeon Bay. Located in a bucolic agricultural region with rolling hills and undeveloped coastline, Door County is a huge tourist draw building upon the outdoors and its natural resources. Big draws include a number of popular state parks, fishing, boating, cycling, vacation homes, and wine tourism.

Products Sold & Niche Developed

Greens N’ Grains carries a full line of natural groceries including local, organic produce, poultry and meat, coffee, frozen foods, natural supplements, natural pet food, personal care items and educational materials. Greens N’ Grains is known for its selection of Wisconsin cheeses. Approximately 70% of all produce sold is sourced locally. All bread and bakery products are made from a bakery located on nearby Washington Island, WI, which features organic wheat grown on the island.

Market Segments Served

A large segment of Greens N Grains are return customers and local residents of Egg Harbor and the nearby region – from Sturgeon Bay to Washington Island. Seasonal customers provide increased traffic during the summer months, which is critical to profitability.

Contributions to the Business Community

Greens N Grains is Door County”s first and only full service natural food store. Located in a historic building in the heart of Egg Harbor that housed one of the County”s first mercantile stores. Green N’ Grains is Travel Green Wisconsin Certified.

Green N’ Grains has partnered with a number of local businesses and producers to reduce environmental impacts and costs by arranging pick-up of products from multiple locations in a single trip. Working directly with local growers is a large draw for customers looking for a more personal shopping experience by gaining knowledge of the source of products. One example is the relationship developed with a local producer that operates a greenhouse to source fresh vegetables throughout the winter; another is with a bakery located on nearby Washington Island that uses 100% organic locally grown grains. The goal is to source local and Wisconsin products whenever possible. The abundance and diversity of locally and regionally sourced products is an advantage to the area, and is presented in colorful and informative displays. This creates a shopping experience unique from larger grocers. Greens N’ Grains produces a bi-weekly newsletter, and hosts popular home food production gardening courses.

Greens N’ Grains is located next door to a large regional grocer, an independently owned Roundy’s, which predated Green N’ Grains. Greens N’ Grains owner Kathy Navis has a good relationship with the ownership at Roundy’s. Kathy works to develop the natural, local, and organic food niches, which have little overlap with Roundy’s, to ensure profitability.

 

Review by: Joshua Clements, UW Extension