Adventures in Phoenix Park (and other outdoor market stories) Volume 1

It was the summer of 2012, things were in full swing at the outdoor market in Eau Claire. I was working the market that particular Saturday by myself. Which was unusual. Saturdays were always the busiest, so I almost always had a side kick. But not this day. 

It was towards the end of the market and this guy was hanging out by my stand. And he was not leaving. He was tasting the salsa, then backing off so other people could taste it. Then he would come back and taste some more. He was asking me all sorts of questions about the ingredients and how long we had been doing this and if we were licensed. Honestly, I thought he might be a kook. The more questions he asked and the more times he tasted and stepped back and then tasted again, the more uneasy and worried I got. 

Backup to several weeks earlier when a man showed me his ring and told me that he got it from the Creator and that one time the Creator came to him and touched rings with him. This guy kept asking me questions, too. You can see from where my trepidation comes. 

I digress. 

Back to the curious stalker guy. 

The market was thinning out. It was approaching closing time and this guy was. still. hanging. around. I was ready to call Jim and say, "You need to get your butt up here right now before the only two people left here are me and mister inquisitive." But then, the man looked at me, stuck his hand out, and said, "I'm Matt from the Willy Street Co-op (www.willystreet.coop) in Madison. You have a really great product here. Have you guys ever considered branching out to the southern part of the state?"

My dread was replaced with a flood of excitement. Willy Street Co-op liked my stuff. 

Matt invited us down to the coop. He told us to bring some samples and be ready to chat. Jim told his boss that he had an appointment with his lawyer (sorry, Jason). When we got there, I think there were three or four other people in the meeting room. Everyone tasted the samples and loved them. Then someone brought up UPCs. "If we bring these into the store, they are gonna need a UPC." Before I even thought, I said, "No problem."

We were so excited leaving that store. We were going to have our salsa on the shelves of a store in the state capital. Unreal. The first thing I did when I got back to the car was a Google search for UPCs. At that time, to purchase legitimate UPCs, it was $350. Each. 

I started crying. How were we going to afford that? We were finished. Done for. How were we ever going to be a legitimate business now? On a side note, I did have bronchitis and a double ear infection. I laid on the floor for the entire trip back. Crying. 

Fortunately for you guys, we were able to fudge the UPCs for a few years. No worries. We now have "official" registered UPCs. 

I got an email from Matt over the weekend. Reminding me of that day in downtown Eau Claire. Not that I ever forgot it. It is honestly one of my fondest memories in this amazing journey. He reached out to tell me that he had been ordering and stocking our salsa at the Willy Street East location, and that he is impressed by how the product line is moving. 

I often wonder what would have happened had Matt not stopped down at the market that day. What other road would we have taken? Would we even have had an "in" in Madison without Matt? Maybe not. 

It is people and stories like this, that make me smile, and keep me going when my day is shit. 

Thanks for reaching out, Matt. You made my day.