Burlington NC’s local food co-op

Company Shops Market

My sister lives in Burlington, NC, a town just off the interstate between Greensboro and the Chapel Hill-Raleigh-Durham area. While it may often be overshadowed by its better-known neighbors to the east and west, Burlington is the anchor of a fast-growing local food scene in North-Central NC. On Saturday my sister and her family treated Mr HP and me to a tour of local food resources in the Burlington area, starting with breakfast at the Company Shops Market, Burlington’s food co-op. Their slogan: Local Food for Local People.

Company Shops Market

Burlington food co-op aisles

Burlington’s food co-op sources as much as possible of what it sells from local farms and producers, and charges members a fee in exchange for discounts at the store and the opportunity to participate in elections. Membership is a bargain one-time payment of $100 for individuals, or $150 for a two-adult family. The Burlington co-op is a strong supporter of the local community:

For every dollar you spend, 68% goes back into the community through donations, purchases, taxes and payroll. We’re helping to support the local small farms, businesses and producers and offering our customers all-natural, free-range, fair trade, organic and REAL food products!

I particularly appreciated the bulk eggs: fill your own container! Genius!

Our breakfast was fantastic, with more variety than the Charlottesville Whole Foods breakfast bar, for about half the price.

Burlington is lucky to have the Company Shops Market. I’ll definitely be back.

Co-op breakfast bar

Local food for local people


Downtown Burlington’s Saturday morning farmers market is also getting ready to open for the season on April 4:

Did you know that all of our vendors grow, raise, and create everything they sell at market within a 60 mile radius of Downtown Burlington? Now that’s what you can call local!


Next stop in our tour, Piedmont Feed and Garden Center in Chapel Hill!

Locavore surprises in Saxapahaw, NC

On a recent visit to Burlington, NC, home of the world’s cutest nephew, HP was happily surprised to find a locavore haven in nearby Saxapahaw. The Saxapahaw General Store carries local and organic produce and groceries, local beverages and baked goods, and serves up a pretty extensive menu of breakfast, sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and more using local ingredients. We had a tasty lunch of sandwiches and salads and picked up a few heirloom tomatoes for tomato sandwiches for breakfast the next day. [Brookville Restaurant in Charlottesville is the master: toasted white bread, Duke’s mayo, and sliced fresh, local, heirloom tomatoes. So simple, so unbelievably good.]

Saxapahaw General Store

The Saxapahaw General Store has a mission I am happy to support:

They decided to become stewards of local foods, good wine and beer, nutritious snacks, and eco-conscious dry goods.

We stopped by sister pub The Eddy for a post-lunch local beer. The Eddy’s interior of brick, wood, and antiques harkens back to the building’s former life as a mill. I didn’t realize how impressively environmental the refurbishment of the space was until reading their website:

To honor the space outside the mill, we have equipped the whole building with geothermal wells for heating and cooling  of the spaces.  The kitchen’s water is heated with solar electricity, and much of its daytime lighting comes in naturally from a clerestory constructed in the center portion of its roof.  A series of ramps and stairs allows full access to the spaces without the use of an elevator.  New double paned windows in the fashion of the original windows add efficiency of heating and cooling.

The Eddy serves local, seasonal pub food, maintains a busy live music schedule, and has a lovely patio and event spaces.

If you should happen to find yourself near Saxapahaw, you should check out these two locavore havens. Cheers!