Frances Parrish

The downtown Greer coffeehouse is full of sugar, spice and everything ... produce?

Stomping Grounds Coffee House and Wine Shop has opened its doors to the Mini Market, a place for people can buy home-grown and organic produce.

J.P Wersinger, co-owner of Suburban Sharecrop, has been a barista in the coffee house for two years and when he started his new business, his boss, Lisa Garland, decided to support him.

"When he started his farming venture we were really excited about it, because one of the things we realized is that there is not an ample amount of local produce accessible right here in Greer," Garland said.

So, they started focusing their efforts in bringing fresh food to Greer and Taylors areas.

The market sells produce such as kale, tomatoes, basil, milk, eggs and pimento cheese.

The Mini Market is the latest concept of Wersinger and Chad Manaton's business. The business was incorporated February 2013 but they broke ground on the current farm in March 2014 when Manaton joined the business.

Wersinger has a background in farming, and Manaton has a background in information technology management, but together they are helping small-business farmers make an impact on the community.

Wersinger met Manaton at the Clemson Master Gardening class.

"One day we were out in the parking lot and he says 'Chad, do you want to be my business partner? As if Chad, you want to go get coffee?' " Manaton said.

Suburban Sharecrop is able to able to help small farmers establish themselves in the market.

So far, Garland considers the Mini Market concept a success. Garland said that they sell out of tomatoes first.

"He's already sold all his tomatoes. He can't grow them fast enough. People come in asking for the tomatoes," Garland said.

Wersinger recently restocked tomatoes and already people were grabbing them off the shelves, he said.

"There's not just a demand but a need (for fresh produce)," Wersinger said.

The Mini Market is still smoothing out some kinks. One issue is spreading the word. Most of their advertising has been through word of mouth and networking with other farmers.

Pricing is another issue they are sorting out.

"We aren't mechanized like the huge farms in California," Manaton said.

While their food may be fresh, it can also be a little higher priced then the supermarket.

Currently, three-quarters of the produce sold in the Mini Market comes from Wersinger's Brushy Creek Farm.

By the fall, they hope to have a distribution center established where farmers could drop off their produce and the produce would be distributed from there.

They want to be part of the paradigm shift in getting people to think about local fresh produce and understand the benefits.

"It's still an experiment. We are learning what people are wanting," Wersinger said.

For more about the Mini Market or Suburban Sharecrop, visit suburbansharecrop.com.

INTERESTED?

Visit suburbansharecrop.com. Stomping Grounds is at 208 Trade St.