The buy local movement had not yet struck in 1997 and the ability to buy and sell local products was all but disappearing.  Many towns had the same chain stores selling the same generic products.  If a buyer’s options were limited, a local producer’s options were almost non-existent.  With the consolidation of distribution channels, it had become increasingly difficult to take a local product to market.  Only those farmers and producers with a high level of sophistication, perseverance and resources could break in to the marketplace, and only then with a great deal of luck.

The founding of Hannah Grimes Marketplace was intended to help rebuild an infrastructure for local commerce by providing a true marketplace where buyers and sellers would come together. Consumers supporting local producers in this marketplace as well as in other venues – retail stores, farm stands and markets, craft fairs, and direct purchases — would help to reweave that fabric of social and economic interdependence that helped define this region.

Local products offer quality.  They are made or grown by people with a passion for what they are doing.  They bring into the market the spirit, stories and Yankee ingenuity of the maker and help ensure that the traditions that helped define our region and make us distinctive will continue.

The members, staff, board and customers at Hannah Grimes have helped position the Monadnock region as a leader in the buy local movement.  A strong local infrastructure like this showcases a region’s resources, highlights its delicious tastes, supports its distinctive crafts, arts and industry, and honors, enriches, and connects its people.

We hope you will join us in celebrating the success that we have built together and in leading the way for the next 20 years!  We look forward to seeing you both in the store and online soon.