Chatagnier Community Market is already preparing to more than double its retail space less than three months after opening, while partnering with Wild Rise Sourdough Co. to add a commercial kitchen that could help other local food vendors bring their products to market.
Lexus Chatagnier, one of the owners of Chatagnier Community Market, says the market plans to relocate from its current 1,300-square-foot suite in the former Platinum Dancewear space on Airline Highway into three adjoining spaces in the same building, allowing the business to expand without changing locations. The move comes as the market has quickly outgrown its current space after opening this summer.
“We’re maxed out,” Chatagnier says, pointing to growing inventory and limited storage space. “I can’t really operate in here the way I want to.”
She adds that need for the expansion became more immediate over the last few weeks.
“I’ve been rotating meat and milk like crazy,” she says. “We just need more floor space. I still planned to make it work, but once the realtor said I really don’t have to change my address. I’m just going to change my suite number. It’ll be easy for everybody to still find us. This location’s working for us. So once she presented that she had three, I just didn’t know that I’d be able to get that opportunity to do that again.”
With the expansion, about 2,500 square feet would be dedicated to the market’s retail floor, a little more than double its current shopping space. Another portion would house storage, refrigerators and freezers, while roughly 625 square feet would be used for a commercial kitchen operated by Chelsea Mitchell of Wild Rise Sourdough Co.
Mitchell launched Wild Rise as a cottage bakery after leaving her full-time job in July and began supplying bread and other baked goods to Chatagnier Community Market. Demand quickly pushed the home-based operation toward its production limits.
“The more bread and cookies I brought, the faster they sold out,” Mitchell says. “We’re pretty capped out.”
The commercial kitchen will allow Wild Rise to increase production and potentially hire additional employees. Mitchell says she plans to produce more bread, cookies and other sourdough products from the space.
The kitchen will also be available for rent to other food entrepreneurs, creating a pathway for vendors who need access to a commercial kitchen. Vendors using the facility could potentially stock products at Chatagnier Community Market without operating a pop-up booth there each day.
“It’s just going to be a commercial kitchen, and we will rent it out to other vendors who want to either put their products in Lexus’s store or just anybody in general who’s looking to rent a commercial kitchen,” Mitchell says.
The partnership had been discussed before the market opened, but the businesses’ rapid growth accelerated the timeline. Chatagnier says she had originally planned to eventually add a kitchen to the existing suite, but growing inventory filled the space with refrigerators, freezers and backstock.
The expansion is also expected to create jobs. Mitchell anticipates needing kitchen preparation help as Wild Rise increases production, while Chatagnier expects to add cashiers and employees to stock the larger store.
Renovations are expected to begin in October. Chatagnier hopes to move into the expanded market by mid-November or early December.
Read a previous Ascension Business Report article on Chatagnier Community Market.
