The temporary location of Common Grounds, a Port Washington-based farm-to-table grocer, opened to a flurry of activity earlier this week, starting with a preview on Sunday and hitting full stride by Monday’s official launch.
Shaking hands and introducing himself, owner Evan Freed greeted everyone who entered the shop’s interim spot at 189 Main Street, a building that is part of the fabric of old Port Washington. On one side of the shop is Snacks & Design, which holds the lease of the space, and the other is Common Grounds, whose inventory, according to Freed, is all grown and raised in New York.
The opening “was great, with nonstop people,” Freed said, who noted he barely had time to sit down.
Freed raised about $200,000 for this venture, and hopes to raise another $50,000 as he works towards securing a permanent location – right now he’s negotiating with a landlord for another Main Street storefront.
But for now, Freed engages shoppers through his inventory, which features items from about 10 farms. In just two days, the shop nearly sold out of 45 dozen eggs from Triple J Farm, as well as almost three cases of yogurt from Chaseholm Farm. The shop also carries a variety of the creamery’s cheeses. The freezer was filled with heritage chicken and artisanal tofu. And there were carrots and tomatoes, crisp Romaine lettuce, beets and more. The onions and garlic are from the Black Dirt Region in Orange County, where “the soil is super fertile,” Freed said.
“We also have rice that is grown in New York,” he said, adding that the farmers “brought their traditions from China.” This includes ducks, which eat the bugs off the rice to keep it pest-free. This same farm will be supplying the store with duck eggs in the next week or two. And when the season ends, the ducks will be harvested for meat for sale at Common Grounds.
“As regenerative farming is supposed to be, when done really well, is it’s a full life cycle of how the animals and plants interact together and how you utilize everything in the system to keep it helping the planet, and also not wasting things,” Freed said.
The shop’s debut comes at a time when regenerative farming is gaining momentum, even with big companies such as McDonald’s, Walmart and General Mills, according to published reports.
These practices are credited with conserving water, enriching the soil, and minimizing the use of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.
And while the practice is attracting big corporations, Freed brings a community-minded approach. He said that small farms in underserved communities are struggling with shifting federal priorities and lost funding.
“Their farming does not make a ton of money for them right now,” he said. “Even healthcare bills are hard for them to pay at times.”
An entrepreneur by nature who feels his purpose is “to serve people,” Freed decided to open the store after mulling over ideas. At first, he considered a restaurant that used only local produce, but people in his circle warned how tough the sector is. A friend suggested opening a market instead. That idea resonated, and by September of last year, Freed began setting things in motion.
“I started calling maybe 100, 200 farmers, trying to figure out what it was going to be, and who I could work with, and how I’d make it work,” he said.
Many were receptive to his cold calls.
Along the way, Freed discovered “an awesome network” of LGBTQ+ people of color “from different diasporas that are using regenerative practices and organic practices that their ancestors used. They’re claiming a lot of their ancestry and their culture and farming,” he said.
Freed views their regenerative practices as a shared value among those who prioritize healthy, responsibly grown food for their families.
And local collaboration helps.
Andrew Bly, owner of Snacks & Design, opened his shop at 189 Main Street in February. In addition to package design, he sells a curated selection of snacks and beverages he’s branded for clients, along with custom-designed shirts.
When Freed approached Bly about taking temporary space at the shop, Bly was game.
“It’s been great so far,” he said.
Some of the companies’ products naturally complement each other. For instance, while Freed was helping a shopper choose cheeses, he recommended pairing them with crackers sold by Bly through Snacks & Design.
Steve Edelson, founder of Smusht—a small-batch, hand-crafted ice cream maker located just across Main Street—stopped by while planning the ingredients, including a topping, for an upcoming creation: lemongrass ice cream.
Looking ahead, Freed hopes to introduce community events, including meditation.
And each week, he said, there will be something different on the shelves, giving his supporters reason to return.
For Freed, the future is all about “bringing more people together.”
