Vinestops

Today I'm talking with Jim at Vinestops. You can follow on Facebook as well.

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00:00
You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis.

00:11
Today I'm talking with Jim at Vine Stops in New York. How are you, Jim? I'm good, how are you? I'm good.  How was the weather in New York? It's beautiful today.  We're in that part of the season where  one day it's beautiful and the next day it's starting to turn super cold.  So it's going into flu season, I guess.  Yay, that's exciting.

00:37
I am actually, my bedroom is where I record  at my desk in my room.  And uh my bedroom, it feels like a refrigerator this morning because when I went to bed last night, I had to have the AC on  and uh my husband didn't turn it off when he came downstairs this morning and shut the door. So  I am almost shivering talking to you in my room.  Yeah, we do that all the time.  We love it. We like the cold, so we're okay with that.

01:05
For sleeping, it's great, but for sitting at a desk with my hands needed to move the mouse and stuff, it's not awesome. Okay, so tell me a little bit about yourself and what you have going here. So obviously, my name is Jim. We bought this farm during COVID and it kind of changed our lives significantly. was

01:31
in the corporate world and  also in the film industry and some law enforcement experience. so that was kind of  everything I did, you know, seven days a week was somewhere in that realm. And then  COVID hit, obviously all of our lives had changed, but we had the opportunity to buy this small  1800s gentleman's horse farm, about 10 acres. uh And it was where I grew up.  And so I wanted to come back closer to my mom anyway, because she was getting sick.

02:02
Yeah. So he said, you know what, let's do it and rehab it.  Because my wife grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, so she always had horses  and she always wanted to get them again.  So we decided to do it. And  very quickly, we went from  that fast paced or I did anyway, that fast paced life to kind of country life. You know, we bought chickens and then I started like, you know, I put a little stand on the side of the road and we started  selling our extra eggs and then

02:29
You the whole chicken math thing happened. You start with six, you go to 10, 20, then you're fluctuating back and forth. And next thing you know, have 150 plus chickens in our yard. And, uh, and then, you know, towards the last year of COVID, uh, which was the, this is the year that we purchased it. Um, we put it, when we bought it, we put in about, I don't know, 50 fruit trees. And we, just wanted to start kind of a hobby farm. You know, I didn't do the whole homesteading thing yet.

02:58
and I just wanted to kind of grow extra.  So we had some fresh food because I was frustrated with what we were getting in the supermarkets. know, if like when the egg crisis happened,  you couldn't find eggs anywhere. And when you can find them, they were like $10, $15, you know,  a dozen. was just ridiculous. And so  I eventually, I just started changing. I started eating so much more from my garden and from my trees.

03:23
spending less and not going to the supermarket and all my health numbers, my doctor's office, they all started getting better. And I like really realized like, holy cow, know, that all that fast food and that crap put into my body, it really does make a difference. And so kind of the homesteading was born, you know, of having the passion of, you know, growing my own stuff and then, you know, running a farm stand on the the on the front of the driveway. So, you know, after

03:53
after that was kind of successful the first year. The next year I doubled everything, the size of everything, added more fruit trees, bought more chickens. And then my farm stand that I made kind of fell apart. And it was funny. So I was like, all right, I got to buy a farm stand because like, I need something that's gonna last. And

04:18
I went to go look for one and I couldn't find anybody that sells farmsteads like Home Depot, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, even on Amazon. know, when I was  like, you know, where can I buy a farm stand or, you know, farm stands and  nothing came up. And I was like, huh. So I took some time and uh I refined the farmstead I had and  I was doing a lot of research what people were doing, like farmstead groups and uh social media groups and whatnot.  And I just.

04:47
developed my own and started testing it out to see what the pros and cons of it were. And I ended up getting into designer and I said, hey, can you build me this on paper that would be structurally sound and good quality? And so we did that and that's how my farm stand was born. Nice. Okay. I have a question that doesn't really have anything to do with farm stands, but I'm curious.

05:17
um You're in New York, so you have the same growing season we have in Minnesota. It's basically May through  end of August, end of September. Yep.  Yeah. So when you get your first thing that you've grown fresh in the spring, what's the first thing you are picking and eating? um I would say it's a mix between sun-gold cherry tomatoes and strawberries.

05:46
Okay, for us, it's rhubarb, because we have rhubarb here. Gotcha. Yeah, I didn't know what rhubarb was and what  mistakenly,  I tore it all out. no.  Yeah, because it was a very overgrown property,  because it was kind of let go.  And so I was just cleaning out all the beds, all the weeds.  And  the lady that I bought it from  showed her pictures. She's like, Oh my God.

06:14
Did you clear out that whole section? I like, She goes, I had all  rhubarb in there. I was like,  oh, sorry.  I didn't know. I didn't know what it looked like. didn't, you know, I knew nothing about it. So, oops.  Yeah.  Well, it's our favorite thing because it means that spring is officially here because rhubarb isn't ready to pick and eat  until spring has been established.  And so every spring we may, buy strawberries cause we don't get strawberries the same time we get rhubarb here.

06:44
We buy strawberries and we make a strawberry rhubarb compote and we put it over French vanilla ice cream.  Wow. That is our welcome to spring. That sounds delicious. See, I cheat a little. don't cheat, but  I, uh, I start my seeds in January inside my house.  Yeah. And then I have a greenhouse attached to the house with a door that goes from the basement into the greenhouse.  So I'm able to kind of get way ahead. So by the time I'm putting plants in the ground,

07:11
some of them have little cherry tomatoes already on them, you know, so. Yeah, a heated greenhouse is one of the biggest blessings on a homestead. We have what I am affectionately calling now an almost heated greenhouse. We, it gets us a couple more months of growing season instead of everything ending in September. It's kind of done in November, but we're working on.

07:37
ideas on how to get it just a little bit warmer so we can grow things in January and February too.  Yeah. So I get it. A heated greenhouse is an absolute blessing.  Okay, so back to the farm stand thing. Sure. um I'm not surprised that you couldn't find an already built farm stand or the components and  the plans together to buy it and put it together yourself back then.

08:05
because  most people  tend to just take a shed they already have and  retrofit it for the farm stand  or they get like a, don't know what they're called, just  the bottom part of a trailer, the metal part, the frame. And then they lay wood over it and then they put, you know, boards  up.  What's the word I want?  Sides, corners, corners, open. It's an open farm stand idea.

08:35
And they put  the two by fours up on the four corners and then they put a roof on it  and that's how they started. And then they put the siding on it and then it becomes a farm stand. Yep. And I don't think people were looking for quote unquote ready-made farm stands back then. Yeah, no, they, uh, you know, at least, uh,  I started to,  but  it's certainly something that

09:02
It's like a niche person at that time.  Like these are like, you you're talking about rural areas, people that already,  you know, have green thumbs farm, you know,  like a normal person with an acre probably during COVID time,  wasn't really looking to try to figure out how to grow fresh food.  That whole movement really picked up in the last couple of years, you know?  And so there are a lot of people, you know, as I've kind of developed VineStops  and started talking with people and they're...

09:30
We found there's a lot of people like me that don't have the tools or the knowledge to build a farm stand  and would love to get one. It's just, there's really nothing out there to buy. So you jumped on this and you're now selling farm stands, right? Well, yeah. And we're not technically live yet as a company. So we have not put it out there to sell, but I've built a couple to, you know, people that contact me and say, Hey, you know, I'd like a farm stand and I build it.

09:59
drive it out to their house. There's a couple out there, but we're trying to get everything launched for the next growing season or next year. Yeah. Tell me the size of the ones that you're building. Well, it's just, if you look at the website, it's that one size. It's about, it's I think 40 to 50 inches deep and wide 40 inches. There's two 18 inch doors. So

10:26
And the height, 83 inches. whatever that turns out to be. Okay. So it's not big, but it's not tiny either. No, it's not. It's heavy. It's definitely a couple of hundred pounds. You know, this initial concept was designed to be like a standing structure. You know, we've since retrofitted one to have wheels on it. So it's movable.

10:53
Oh, nice. And then we also developed a one that has,  you can add components to the sides now to like, you it would, uh you would have your farm stand,  like the core.  And then if you wanted to put like a four foot box to the side of it, it would like slip onto the farm stand, like an accessory almost. So you can expand out your farm stand.  So, but again, you know, that's  some of the stuff still in test and we're hoping to have everything done for  next year.

11:23
Awesome.  Um,  I was telling you when we talked on the phone to get this scheduled that we have our farm stand, obviously.  Yeah. And it's basically a, a shed from, um, tough shed, the company tough. Yep. Yep. I'm familiar. And it's a barn red and white shed. And it's got the little X on the door, you know, it's a red door with the accent and the bottom part.  looks like a little barn  and, uh

11:50
We love our farm stand. mean, I look at that thing every morning when I go out on the porch, drink my coffee and make sure the barn cats are still hanging around because you know what happens with barn cats, they disappear for no reason. uh every time I look at that farm stand, I just smile because it's adorable. And I smile because we're helping our community by providing good food for them. Yeah, that's the biggest thing too is, you know, getting back to

12:16
really  having more options, more local fresh options for  the community. Everything the government is doing, and I'm not totally anti-government, I understand there's a purpose of it,  but uh the regulations and  just the costs for these big farms to operate are...

12:37
are out of control. And  I know in New York here, we are seeing a significant, I can't remember the percentage, there's a significant decline in  farming and farms in New York.  Because what happened here was New York State started pushing this solar big time.  farmers were getting offers from solar companies to basically  lease out their land to them.  And so now they're just taking, they're closing down century old farms and  you're just getting like, just

13:06
acres and acres of solar panels everywhere.  For the farmer,  it's come to a point, what happens is they're like, well, listen, I can either struggle  and have to deal with the government and deal with New York state and all these regulations and all these inspections and barely make anything, or I can sit back and relax and retire and collect money from this lease.  What are they going to do?  A lot of people are at the age where it's just time. It's  like they're seeing the end of it now  and it's disappointing.

13:35
So I think really the next revolution is going to be, my perspective is going to be everybody that has a couple acres or an acre trying to figure out how to grow a little extra on what they have and then offer some of that extra out. Right? So there's more smaller farms and smaller homesteads and even just regular people with bigger backyards putting fresh food out there rather than everybody relying on these big farms that are starting to close down. Yeah. m

14:05
I,  it is so  frustrating that that's happening. And I was actually watching a news show and they were talking about the solar farms and somebody who was a farmer had gotten the solar panel things put in, but he had sheep. And what happens with the solar panel things is it's really hard to keep the weeds and the grass down under them.  And so he  kept his sheep and he used his sheep.

14:35
to keep the field where the solar panels are  raised and it was food for the sheep and then he still had a farming business. Yeah. And there's definitely ways to go around it.  It's, you know, to utilize your farm.  But again, it goes back  to,  it worth the aggravation and the time or is it time to retire and  just move on, you know?

14:59
Yep, exactly. And so few of the younger generations, like under 30,  want to go into farming because they've seen how much work it is. No, yeah. mean,  the kids of these farmers  are growing up now in a different world.  It's not about farming, it's about technology.  And most of them realize the money is in tech  and they don't want to work seven days a week,  you know, waking up and doing all this stuff. uh

15:28
that you have to do on a farm, they  want to be at a Starbucks and  work in an office or work out of their bedroom.  It's just different.  It's  kind of like the trade industry, construction, electricians, plumbers, they're all disappearing because the kids don't want to do it. And it's a really big problem.  It really is. it's kind of scary because if things keep going and following this trend,

15:57
Who, number one, where are we gonna get our food?  And number two, who's gonna fix the tractors that we use to help grow our food?  Who's gonna fix our well?  It's stuff like that  that is really kind of frightening.  And the thing is, the people that do do it,  there's so much demand, at least around here. They can  name their price  and  it could be absolutely ridiculous. And they'll say, okay, walk away and there's 10 other people waiting for them.

16:25
And if you do decide to say, all right, you know what? I'll pay it. I know I'm overpaying for this, but I have to get it done and there's no one else to do it. They're gonna be like, okay, I'll be back in a month because I have five other jobs before you that I have to finish. So it's really frustrating to get work done on the house. I do as much as I can, but my daughter, I put her in welding, believe it or not. She's 17, she goes to trade.

16:52
Bocey's trade school and she's been doing welding for two years now. I told her, I was like, don't care what you do. If you want to do your TikToks and all that stuff, fine. But you pick a trade here and go study it. And she picked welding and she loves it. I think that's almost be in every school district there should have, they should have trade classes. And instead having these ridiculous classes that these kids are taking, that, you know, or two study halls, they should have, it should be mandatory.

17:21
that it's an electric shop or a  plumbing shop or a class, I mean, you know,  some type of trade class. Yeah, where kids can learn how to do actual things with their hands and their brains.  Mm hmm. I agree.  And that's how it used to be. I'm 55 and we had shop class in my high school.  I did not take it because I was a girl and that was frowned upon back then. Yeah, but not now.

17:49
Yeah, I think there was maybe one or two girls in my graduating class who took shop and my graduating class was like 450 people.  Well, think, uh, I don't know. It's so hard to see what's going to happen in 10 years, but it's, it's, I'm, I'm already scared to be honest with you.  You are not alone in that gym. I promise you. It's not just me. That's agreeing with you. think there are other people who are very concerned about what the future looks like for our kids and our grandkids.

18:19
So yeah, it's an interesting world. It's actually why with VineStops, as we're developing this company, I work at Starbucks, is a very socially responsible company. You know it's a corporate giant, But the years I worked there at least is 2000 to 2009. They were very, very involved in the communities. They've ran a lot of community events and like,

18:48
like Earth days and  just local things.  They just did a lot.  And I learned a lot of the social responsibility portion of my life from  Starbucks. I'll give them that. uh So for Vine Stops, it's the same thing.  When I started putting the company together,  I had already started thinking about the social responsibility part of the company,  being involved in Earth days,  identifying schools that have uh garden programs.

19:17
and then getting them a farm stand to put in front of their school. So the kids don't  not just learn about how to grow gardens, but they're going to also learn some entrepreneurship behind it of taking that stuff they're growing,  putting it at their school farm stand where the teachers and the parents can buy it.  And then they're making money to put towards their class trips or supplies or something like that.  And so as I develop out this company,  most startups or  entrepreneurs aren't

19:47
thinking about that type of stuff in the early stages  where I want to make sure we have that roadmap out there so that when we are successful at building this, that we can implement that  community focused  part of the company and get these kids involved more.  love that because  you're going to plant the seeds of how much fun it is to grow food and sell it and maybe they'll become farmers. Yeah, or go into agricultural and some

20:17
wave shape or form, you know?  exactly. So  I know that you're just developing the company  and I know that there are certain things that you can't share, but what can you tell me about Vines Stop and what's in the works? um So  what we found with Vines Stop was that  there's a brand out there oh or several brands like in a lot of the industries and categories. like you look at Uber or Grubhub, DoorDash, right?

20:47
When you're thinking,  let me  find some food. You go on Grubhub or DoorDash, right? Cause that's where all the food is that you, know, if you want to get something delivered,  but there's nothing out there that says, Hey, check Vine Stops or, you know, check for the, what's down at the farm stand down the road. Right. So  now I say this brand by brand, mean like, you know, something that  immediately comes to your head, whether in you're in New York or in California, there are a lot of.

21:17
Uh, little apps  and little groups and,  uh, platforms out there that, uh, do a piece of  what we want to accomplish. But again, it's not something that rolls off somebody's tongue. Like it's just, it's,  it's world known or, or, or known throughout the U S right. Not a household name yet. Yeah. Not a household name yet. Exactly. And so, uh, what we want to accomplish is for Vine stops to be a household name to where.

21:47
If you're at your house and you're pulling up vine stops and you want to have a fresh salad with your dinner, that you can go to the app and search, hey, I'm looking for this, this, and this. And it's going to locate all of the farm stands in your area and show you the availability of all the ingredients that you're looking for. That way you can find the best one and then go ahead and communicate with that person and order it. And in the future,

22:16
Other things might happen. I can't get  into that yet,  but ah it's  it's  it'll be a really cool journey. And  then also now you're visiting  friends in Florida and that and that app and process is the same down there because  it's it's now it's now known, right? It's a known brand. And so um that's part of it is the access  where we want to get people like me.

22:43
to start growing extra and teach them to do it. oh Having some partnerships with some social media influencers that  deal around farm stands, homesteads, things like that, to actually  have some of their content available for  people to learn what to do.  It's really, just wanna, we wanna build that network. We wanna make a second distribution system  of fresh food outside of our current supermarket.

23:12
distribution system that if that fails,  we have plenty of options available and known where they are uh for for people to go. The marketing and visibility  of people with homestead or farm stands, things like that, is some of the some of the biggest things that people I talk to struggle with. They keep on saying I need to get people to my door. don't, you know,  but  when when we're talking about people that are

23:40
not low income, but they just don't have the money to put towards like creating a website,  you know,  paying for all, know,  all like advertising and this and that. Like they just, need to get people to the door so they buy stuff so they have some extra money.  And so  we're gonna, we're gonna do that for them. And that's the whole goal is to  kind of let everybody have a platform for themselves where they may not have the knowledge or the skills to create on their own.

24:09
and then bring it all together.  And so  that's like the big thing with VineStops is really just creating a community from all of us. It's not about competition. It's about availability and having healthy food for the people that live around us.  Yes, a rising tide raises all ships. Mm-hmm. Yes.  I talked to a girl, because we're putting together a test group, which you're familiar with, uh

24:38
the stories that I'm hearing from people like me are  really cool.  And she's like, oh yeah, I started a farm stand and then across town, this other girl started a farm stand. Now I got competition. I'm like, yeah, but you know, don't think of it that way because  you're going to have stuff and she's going to have stuff. if,  she's a couple of doors down from you, there are plenty of people out there that would buy from your farm stand as long as,  as long as she's running it properly, obviously, right.  But think of her as a

25:08
partner in a way. I mean, you might not grow potatoes and she might not grow tomatoes.  So maybe you swap so you both have potatoes and tomatoes or maybe you know, you're not growing potatoes, but you guys eat them a lot and you say, hey, I want to trade I'll trade you, you know, all these tomatoes for some of your potatoes. This is what they did back then, right?  Back in the back in the, you know, 1800s, they traded for things.  And so it's kind of like that just think of her as another option for your family to have other things available for fresh food.

25:37
And that's the thinking we all have to do, I think.  Yeah, absolutely. um We're selling friends of ours duck eggs in our farm stand because  they're not, they have acreage, but it's a lot of it is a ravine.  And so they don't really have a good spot for a farm stand. And she  messaged me this spring and said, could we sell our duck eggs in your farm stand this summer?

26:04
And I was like,  yes, yes, you can. And I didn't even know if it was okay.  I still don't know technically if it's okay for us to do that in Minnesota. We've been doing it all summer.  And what's been terribly interesting about it is that I was mildly like a little tiny bit concerned that people would buy the duck eggs over our chicken eggs.  And  no, people buy duck eggs and chicken eggs at the same time.  Yeah.

26:33
Duck eggs are I guess popular baking. never knew that.  I didn't either and I still haven't done it. I keep saying to my husband I need him to bring me in a half dozen  from the farm stand so I can use them to make cookies and see if it makes any difference. And  my husband has ADD real bad and I can say, Hey, I need duck eggs.  And he'll say, yep, I'll get them in a bit. And they never come in the house. So  I need to remember to say, Hey, I need duck eggs  now. Could you go get them  now? And then he'll go get them for me. Yeah.

27:03
I live this world, Yup, yup. is one of the biggest, I don't know, struggles for us because I don't have ABD and I do not ever want to the inside of how his mind works because I think that I would have a heart attack. He tells me stuff and I have to go, okay, back up.

27:28
Tell me specifically about this thing you mentioned five minutes ago and can we go from there? So yeah,  it makes communication really hard sometimes, but  I love him and we've learned how to  slow down  and maybe clear up confusion sooner than later. So doesn't lead to arguments.  Yep. So ah I have one more question for you. When  do you think?  Cause this is a  work in progress for you.

27:58
When do you think that this will all be ready to go?  I think we're looking to  get the platform out there within 60 to 90 days.  Oh, nice. For people to actually start utilizing it. um And then  we hope that everything's kind of buttoned up  by the  start of the growing season next year, like April.

28:24
And we hope again, even in April, May, you'd be able to see uh availability in some stores to purchase farm stands. So  that's the goal right now.  That's fabulous. I can't wait. And I want you to come back. We need to stay in touch. And when you're getting ready to launch it and when you can say more about what it is and how it works, I want you to come back before it launches. And that way we can get the word out to people. Yeah, we're going to start starting this first test group  very shortly.

28:54
and  we're gonna put another second test group together. um So, if  there's anybody listening that's interested in kind of testing out our platform  before we really go live with it  and giving us some feedback,  they can contact me through social media, Find Stops, um on Instagram or any Facebook or Meadow, whatever they call it  Or they can go through you also and you can  send them  to me.

29:23
Yeah. And your website is? So, Vinestops.com is live. Okay. And it's kind of, again, it's a test site. So there's some quirky things on there that may not make sense. It's not going to look like this. This was more put together for some investors to look at. Oh, okay. And for job applicants, we've been building our team. But we left it up because we are seeing kind of organic visits. And so it's good to actually see where people are.

29:53
you know, visiting the site from and whatnot. So we just leave it up to, you know, let people explore it. Awesome. Fantastic.  All right. As always, people can find me at a tiny homestead podcast.com  and please go check out my Patreon because I just got it set up and I'm adding things to it every day. It's Patreon. Well, it's www.patreon.com slash a tiny homestead.  Jim, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it. Oh, pleasure. Thank you.  Nice to meet you.

30:23
Have a great day. Talk to you later.