Winter can be tough if you’re looking for fresh, local foods, but life just got a lot easier with the opening of FarmHouse Markets
(15 N. Church St., West Chester).
On Dec. 9, customers packed FarmHouse Markets for its grand opening party, where they got to meet local growers, store owner Tim Ferris, and manager, Rob Schultz. Customers were greeted by a live cello player as they entered this historic-looking market with its tin ceiling and checkered green-and-yellow tiled floor.
Customers got to sample local goodies that are regular items in the market. Sipp, an organic soda company in Chester Springs, handed out samples of their Ginger Blossom soda. Sakura Express is an award-winning sushi restaurant in Chester Springs and has its own sushi station in the market, with sushi, hibachi to-go dinners and lots of appetizers. Tally Ho Coffee roasts its own beans right outside the borough and sells whole beans and ground coffee. Chester Springs Creamery offered scoops of their delicious ice creams.
Each morning, Manhattan Bagels and bread from LeBus Bakery are delivered, and fresh brewed coffee is on hand. The humanely raised beef, pork and lamb, milk and free-range eggs come from their farm, Milky Way Farms in Chester Springs. The store also carries, fish, exotic meats (goat, rabbit and lamb), veggies, fruit, live lobsters, Springfield Pasta, local raw honey from Exton Bee Company, and grocery items like toilet paper and paper towels. Above the large cases of produce, customers can read about the farmer who grew a particular crop. They can also watch busy bees making honey in their honey combs, which will produce 3,000 pounds of honey a year.
Need something quick for lunch, or maybe you don’t feel like cooking dinner? They have a large selection of pot pies, frozen dinners (like Angus Beef Lasagna from Amani’s in Downingtown), and they’re planning to install a case full of hot dinners.
Tim has been working toward opening a store for about four years. It all started with a beef and pork farm, and then they started their own milk processing farm. “The whole aspect of the store is to buy fresh, buy local,” he said. Tim works with a network of 40 farmers and local suppliers. He spends his days attending auctions and local farmers’ markets in Chester and Lancaster counties, as well as the greater Philadelphia region, in a quest for the highest quality products.
“We are dealing with a diverse community — people who are on food stamps to lawyers across the street,” said store manager Rob Schultz. “We are trying to provide good, healthy food for this community, and they are so happy and appreciative. It’s a great feeling.”
Twice a week this past summer, they set up a farm stand to offer customers fresh fruit and produce while their store was being 
built.
“I work on Church Street, and they had a stand out front with fresh produce,” said satisfied customer Tara Speck. “You don’t see that very often. I like to shop locally and was thrilled this opened. I can get what I need day to day, rather than stocking up for the week, which produces less waste. And the prices are great here!”
The market is open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Call 610-430-FARM (3276) to place special or large orders.
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