News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A new market with a focus on fresh, locally-grown produce has opened in Gainesboro.
Miss Sallie’s Market is operating in a newly-renovated 100-year old building on the Gainesboro Square. Store Owner Natasha Deane said she was inspired to start the store when she discovered that many people in Jackson County shared her frustration over the lack of fresh, healthy foods available.
“I find that there’s, you know, really two, largely two communities in Jackson County: one that makes and cooks everything themselves and one that, another community that really spends their time running in and out of restaurants because they don’t cook or they can’t get the ingredients they need,” Deane said. “So I’m trying, my idea is to try and get those communities together.”
The store sources its products from several local farms in the area, including an Amish community just over the Kentucky border. Despite the absence of similar stores in the area, Deane said that there is a growing demand for businesses that sell local goods outside of the farmer’s market.
“As far as getting fresh vegetables at a price point that works for taking it home and cooking it, there really isn’t much at all, especially certain days of the week, the early part of the week,” Deane said. “So I’d find myself driving either to Cookeville or Nashville to stock up on groceries.”
Deane said she wanted to have the shop in Gainesboro because she loves the town, but felt a shop like this was the biggest thing it lacked.
“We would come to Gainesboro, it’s such a wonderful little town, and I always have this just happy feeling when I come here,” Deane said. “And I thought to myself, ‘I used to love to go shopping but, you know, I don’t love driving into the city anymore to shop.'”
