EAST RANDOLPH — The nonprofit Middle Branch Collaborative off Route 14 is closing its local vendor market on Friday, at least for the time being.
With less than six customers a day this winter, Brandiann Cornell, the collaborative’s executive director, decided that the market is not currently sustainable, but she is leaving the door open to reopening it at a later date. Scheduled events will continue.
“This market element of it isn’t working right now for the people who are investing their time and money and resources into it, but that could look different in the future,” said Cornell, who lives in East Randolph and owns the historic store building that hosts the nonprofit on its first floor.
The market— located near the East Randolph Post Office— first opened toward the end of 2024, offering products by 12 collaborators. Cornell relied on an unconventional business model in which customers paid vendors directly, with no middleman to oversee sales. This took away the need for community members to seek out collaborators individually.
“Not everyone has that ability to have a farm stand or to sell those products on their own,” said Cornell. Inspiration came from combining both honoring the heritage of this site and bringing in the local producers of products.”
The building was previously a general store that served Randolph for decades. Cornell bought the former Middle Branch Market & Deli from farmer Stanley Armstrong in June, 2023. Armstrong sold eggs from his farm through the market during Cornell’s management.
Cornell wanted to continue the store’s efforts with Randolph-based vendors, considering it “an opportunity for our community to reinvest their dollars locally.”
Cornell said she opened the market without expectations.
“I was homeschooling my kids. We were here every day, and we had that flexibility in our life to just invest the hours to be open seven days a week, and we were completely self service,” said Cornell.
Cornell and her five children, ranging in age from 11 to 18, did not start out in an agricultural community. After moving from Essex, Vt., the past year of education was invaluable for her family, she said. In addition to their home school lessons, the children learned math skills through baking and inventory work at the store. Now, they attend school in person.
“I get a lot of social interactions at school, but I really liked hanging out here and meeting new people,” said Gemma Cornell, 12.
The market often depended on the honor system, with collaborators not always monitoring their inventories in person. Sales are made using cash boxes. Collaborators were asked to contribute 10% of their sales to the general upkeep fund, which kept the building running.
“There’s not a lot of places that open doors, put out their product and say, ‘The product is here, pay for it yourself, and we’re gonna trust that you do’,” said Cornell.
The market featured local artists and food vendors. In warmer months, there were five outdoor farmers markets that were free for participants. At the time, there was a constant flow of people throughout the entire day.
The collaborative market model made it easy for Bill Garvey, owner of Hobouta Sandwich, which offers homemade sandwiches and soups daily, to get started after he moved to East Randolph from Massachusetts three years ago.
He arrived looking for a way to open up a small restaurant without making a major financial commitment and appreciated the chance to try something new. His business grew all through last summer, bringing in as many as 25 customers on a daily basis. However, business tapered off in October as temperatures dropped.
“At some point, it’s not just slow. There were some days I was selling like three or four sandwiches,” said Garvey. “You’re just losing money every time you open.”
In spite of the seasonal slowdown, there were still some sales happening this week. On Wednesday, Trudi Blossom, a Braintree, Vt., resident, visited the market.
“I drove all the way over to Randolph for a Reuben sandwich,” said Blossom.
While Garvey is sad to see the market go, he said this experience taught him about doing business in a rural area. He also said he connected with more Randolph residents in the past six months than ever before even though he has lived just two doors down from the market for three years.
Garvey hopes to find a job with food, and might outfit a trailer he owns to continue to operate Hobouta Sandwich at farmers markets or elsewhere.
The market is just one aspect of the Middle Branch Collaborative nonprofit, which Cornell said is not going anywhere. Community events will continue, including educational youth activities involving life skills and the property farm— an area behind the building that hosts goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits. The Collaborative received a $7,500 grant from Efficiency Vermont, which the organization used to install a renewable energy heat source using wood pellets in November.
On the third Tuesday of every month, the Collaborative hosts an open mic night for community members to perform songs, stories or jokes, or enjoy as audience members. The most recent open mic night had 30 attendees. At the next one on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m., Garvey will be there making sandwiches to order.
Cornell plans to take the market venture as a learning opportunity and pivot in another direction. The Collaborative ultimately plans to leverage the building in another way. There are collaborations with other nonprofits in the works.
She invites suggestions and participants to contact her via phone at 802-417-0743 or email at middlebranchcollaborative@gmail.com.
“It’s not over. It’s saying, ‘What’s next? What does the community want and need?’,” said Cornell.