Check Out Stephanie Hoffer’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Hoffer.

Hi Stephanie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.

My path to Ionia City Market was long and winding. Gardening has always been a hobby of mine, and it became a great way to relieve the stress of my career as a trial lawyer.

My gardening focus shifted from flowers to food after my daughter was born. Knowing where the food came from that I was putting into my family’s bodies became very important to me. I learned that food labels can’t be trusted. I started growing all of our own vegetables on the only 100 sq ft of my property that had sun, as well as grapes, pears, and peaches.

I wanted to expand to raising our own chickens, ducks, and other animals. But that wouldn’t work on our ¾ acre property in the suburbs. I dreamed of retiring on a farm. But with retirement about 30 years off, I grew impatient. I started peaking around at local farm listings “just to see.” I kept coming back to one in particular. It had been on the market for a while, and the price kept getting lowered.

There was an open house, and we went “just to see.” As we were pulling out of the driveway, we agreed that we needed to buy it.

We decided to make the farm a commercial enterprise to help cover some of the costs of purchasing and renovating the farm. I quickly learned the many reasons that farmers do not make money. After trying several sales outlets, I decided it would be most profitable to start our own store. And I wanted to create an outlet for other local producers to profit.

We identified downtown Ionia, Michigan as a potential location. The nearest grocery store was 3 miles from downtown (the average American lives .9 miles from a grocery store), property values were reasonable, and the town is poised for growth.

We found a quaint storefront, and Ionia City Market was born.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

So many struggles! For months we struggled to find a contractor that would actually show up as promised and complete a job! Our application to accept SNAP benefits was denied due to a stocking issue, even though we offer the healthiest food available. We had horrible storms that affected the farm and destroyed thousands of dollars of ham and bacon due to power outage. We are learning the supply chain. Our little town is small potatoes to most distributors. One supplier gave us the bottom of the barrel on food that expired or went bad within days. Another supplier will only deliver to us at 11:30 p.m. because that is when they are passing by between two larger cities. We struggle to compete with the big-box stores because our wholesale price from some distributors is more than our competitor’s retail price!

But we have been meeting challenges head on and developing solutions. We are working with a select set of suppliers that value our town and our store. We finally have a solid contractor to help finish our renovation. And most importantly, we have a very supportive community that is helping us persevere.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t like to think of it as luck. I like to think of it as the guts to take advantage of potential opportunities. I take calculated risks, and I have always been able to reap rewards with enough hard work and effort.

Contact Info:

• Website: ioniacitymarket.com
• Instagram: @ioniacitymarket
• Facebook: @ioniacitymarket