Well-loved market moving to Headingley

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This article was published 16/07/2018 (2938 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thanks to a change in Manitoba Hydro’s policy, Headingley will soon gain a much-loved Winnipeg farmer’s market store.

Crampton’s Market, located at the corner of Bishop Grandin Boulevard and Waverley Street since 1997, is being purchased by T&T Seeds in Headingley, with the intention of moving the business to 7730 Roblin Blvd. This location, next to T&T Seeds at 7724 Roblin, is now occupied by a house that will soon be completely renovated to make way for a new store and bakery.

“I’ve always had plans to develop the property into something more than what it is,” said T&T Seeds president Jarrett Davidson. “We’re redeveloping the property and turning the entire property into Crampton’s Market.”

Erin Crampton grew up on her family’s strawberry farm. Her parents made jam and sold it at a Winnipeg farmer’s market store where Erin worked as a teen. She told her parents that the business owners were selling and convinced them to buy the business.

After spending a few years travelling, she took over the business from her parents in 1999 when she was 21 years old, and now runs it with husband Marc Degagne. She recalls building the business up gradually.

“When we first opened, people came to look for a deal and a bargain,” she said, adding that some customers thought the locally grown produce offered at Crampton’s Market was too expensive.

She said the game-changer was The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating book, published in 2007, that preached the benefits of eating locally grown and raised food products. “Then all of Winnipeg jumped on our bandwagon.”

“We’ve worked to connect Winnipeggers and local producers,” she said.

Crampton’s now features fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, preserves, baking and dry goods grown and made in Manitoba by 100 producers — a network that she has developed over the years.

The property that houses their retail store, bakery and greenhouse is leased from Manitoba Hydro. With the lease set to expire later this year, Crampton said she expected to simply sign up for another term, but was told that Hydro’s policy had changed regarding leasing this piece of land and her business would have to close down and relocate.

“Manitoba Hydro is kicking us out of this spot. We would be a store without a home,” she said.
Crampton and Degagne investigated leasing land in the same area, but felt the expense would be too high to be sustainable for their business, which operates from May to October.

“If we change the location, we had great concerns about changing the nature of the business,” Crampton said, adding that they didn’t want to have to supplement locally grown produce with imported goods in order to extend their season.

Davidson said a newspaper article about his acquisition of T&T Seeds in 2016 from former owners Brian and Kevin Twomey drew Crampton’s attention. And she contacted him to see if he was interested in adding Crampton’s Market to his current catalogue seeds sales, nursery and retail garden store operation.

“It was the right fit for her and I,” Davidson said. Having an additional retail focus on food as well as garden products will prolong his business’ busy season from May to the end of October, with seed sales starting early in the year.

Crampton said she and Davidson share a commitment to supporting local farmers as well as similar business ethics.

Davidson has received approval from the Headingley council to expand his business, and will double the size of the current store and triple the size of the parking lot. Gravel and soil piles are already being moved to the back of the 40-acre property which stretches well to the south.
Davidson said work on the house will begin later this summer and he’s planning for a grand opening of his gardening and food destination centre on May 1, 2019.

“We’ll be offering the full slate of products that Crampton’s has now,” he said.

In fact, it will be Crampton herself staying in touch with all the local producers as she and Degagne plan to work with Davidson for the next year or two.

“I’ll still be in the back with a phone in my ear,” Crampton joked. “The next year and a half will be a transfer of knowledge.”

Crampton’s Market will close on Oct. 7 and the business transfer will take effect on Oct. 9.

Davidson said he hopes to expand his current seasonal staff of about 45 and permanent, full-time staff of 18 to include some of Crampton’s seasonal staff as well as hire local students looking for summer jobs.