The Farmacy: Easley's Prescription for Local Goodness
This long-awaited local grocery is changing the food scene in Easley and building community in the process.
The first time I met Jesse Lowery, she was shuffling a customer over to a heaping basket of purple okra. “Here, taste it,” she said, crunching down on an okra pod as she offered another to the curious customer. “See? Isn’t it awesome?” She went on to describe the farm that grew and harvested the okra, not only instructing her customer about the source of the okra, but also instilling in her a certain confidence about the food itself.
You don’t get this kind of personal attention at a chain grocery store. And you don’t get this sort of farm-fresh produce there either.
“The minute something is picked, it’s on a timeline,” Jesse explains. “If you haul, say, a tomato from California, that tomato is not picked at its peak of freshness because it’s inevitably going to sit on a truck to make the long haul to your grocery store. And in all that time, its nutrients and flavor diminish. But when you buy that tomato locally, you know you are getting the best and most nutritious tomato possible.”
I’ve seen Jesse in action many times since she opened The Farmacy, a small community grocery that specializes in farm-driven, local food, in the heart of Easley. Like a bee, she buzzes about the store: stocking produce, introducing customers to new, locally made products, and teaching folks how to eat for their health and wellness. She’s as passionate about farming and food as she is energetic, and her enthusiasm for all things local is contagious.
She comes by her passion naturally. For several years, Jesse’s father and uncle ran Twin’s Crossing convenience store at high-ways 8 and 88, which included Smokey Joe’s Café and The Orange Spot produce stand. Jesse often helped at the store as a teen, which exposed her early to the benefits of local produce. After closing the store in 2008 and after strong demand from former customers, the brothers re-opened The Orange Spot in 2009 as a roadside produce stand in Six Mile near Duke Power to serve as a source for farm-fresh produce in an otherwise food desert.
“Six Mile is in the middle of nowhere, really, so eating and living a healthy lifestyle can be challenging,” Jesse claims. “You have to drive a good ways before you can get to a store, and even then, you aren’t typically buying and eating the freshest and most nutritious possible.”
One summer, Jesse - who was between jobs - decided to help out full-time at The Orange Spot. She enjoyed the banter with customers (which also comes naturally), introducing her father and uncle to “exotic” vegetables (hello, kale before it was trendy!), and sharing that passion with folks who were more than willing to try new things.
One fateful day, David Peeler of Milky Way Farms stopped by the stand, asking if the trio was interested in selling raw milk. Jesse gave it a shot and customer response was overwhelmingly positive.
“It hit me like a ton of bricks that this is what I was supposed to be doing,” she says.
For the next few years, Jesse dreamed up a community grocery that would be a source for farm-fresh produce and locally made specialty items. But where?
She scouted several local communities, looked at neighborhoods without a 12-month local produce provider and surveyed buildings and spaces. She knew she had to locate the grocery within a burgeoning population center to be sustain-able. When she read about the Doodle Trail opening in Easley, she knew she’d found the right area.
After learning that the owners of the vacant building that once housed Easley’s iconic Gilstrap’s Grocery desired to see someone open a market there again, Jesse knew the universe was looking out for her.
“It was so important to this community to bring a local market back,” she says. “Gilstrap’s was a beloved business and missed by a lot of people in this area. I was extremely lucky to land this spot.”
Jesse secured the building in 2015 and began in earnest on renovations, which ended up taking quite a bit longer than expected due to a family member’s extended illness. While locals eagerly awaited the store’s opening, Jesse peddled strawberries, blueberries, and peaches in the parking lot. The Farmacy opened its doors in June 2017 to a lot of local fanfare.
Within its small footprint, Jesse offers local produce from farms such as The Happy Berry in Six Mile, Berry Farms in Ninety Six, Anderson’s Growing Green Family Farms, and Hampton’s Tuten Farms, dairy from Milky Way Farms in Starr, juice from Greenville’s Krauss Brothers, eggs and fresh meats (a variety of pork, chicken, beef, and lamb) from Westminster’s Southern Berkshire Farm, Sunset’s Providence Farm, and Johnson Creek Farm in Abbeville, and the list of produce, products, and farms goes on and on. In fact, Jesse’s worked with over 70 farms to supply the store, and that list of partners continues to grow.
Additionally, The Farmacy carries local specialty products such as Westminster’s Crescent Moon Farm’s salt-rising breads and goat cheese spreads, and vegan and gluten-free treats from energi out of Simpsonville (pro-tip: try the I-can’t-believe-these-are-gluten-free cookies and muffins), as well as an assortment of healthcare products like lip balm, bath bombs, soap and moisturizer, and candles, coffee, honey, and more.
With community building as a core value, The Farmacy offers numerous events, including soap-making classes, cooking demonstrations, coffee pour overs, seed sharing, and potluck dinners. Most of these events sell out fast and customers are demanding even more.
"Our customers give us great feedback about the events and about what we are do-ing in this community,” says Jesse. “Eating local isn’t a trendy or elitist thing. When you eat local, when you support small business, you support your own community. That’s about as straightforward and down-home as it gets.”
Indeed, The Farmacy is like having a Farmer’s Market every day, 12 months a year. “It’s what I do: I get it from the farms so I can get it to you,” she explains. “A community that supports itself generates money for itself; it keeps the farms going. If farms fail, the community fails,” she states simply.
Jesse’s passion for everything local is rooted in a deep sense and appreciation for what individuals can do to build and sustain a thriving community: by helping others and “getting back to our roots.” It’s an old school attitude that drives everything she does.
“This matters so deeply to me. Yes, this is a business. But more than that; it’s friendships that are being forged between me and the farmers, me and my customers, between community members...”
“And it’s just such a happy environment!” she adds.
On my most recent visit, I stand at the check out with two bushels of local straw-berries while Jesse examines a head of broccoli that she’s holding like a bride’s bouquet.
“Oh!,” she exclaims as if she remembers something I would appreciate. “Have you seen this cheddar cauliflower? Isn’t it beautiful? Here, take this,” she says, handing me a small yellow bunch (yellow because of extra beta carotene and 25% more vitamin A than white).
I ate it raw before I left the parking lot and then sent my husband on a cheddar cauliflower-buying errand to The Farmacy the next day. We roasted it and some purple cauliflower (which gets its bright hue from a healthy dose of antioxidants) with a little olive oil and salt and pep-per for supper. We invited a few friends over for dinner, our home being just a few blocks from The Farmacy.
And we felt good about it.
The Farmacy
Jesse Lowery
508 S. B Street, Easley, SC 29640
(864) 442-6777
Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday: 12:00 p.m.-4 p.m.
www.facebook.com/thefarmacyeasley
