Our store was originally just a room in the barn where we stored horse tack back when I was a kid. Then it was used as a general purpose room for many, many years.
Almost two years ago, (March 2015) we demoed the old room and freshened it up to be a real store. We were forced to do something because a water line had burst in the ceiling in February and flooded the room. But it was past time to update anyway so no big deal.
This picture is from when we were building out the store you all know. Note the air conditioner in the window. That’s the same window the Princess is hammering beside in the first picture.
This week, we started new construction on part of our addition. Note the back side of the air conditioner. That’s the same window that has been in all three pictures. We are going out the back wall, behind the counter, and pretty much doubling our space.
Don’t get excited yet though. This area won’t be used for customers. It will be used for storage and for backup freezers. You’ve all seen us scurry into the barn to retrieve some extra bit of goodness because even though we have four huge freezers/refrigerators in the store, we have that many more in the back for extra stock. And we need a couple more for even more storage. This room will now house all of our non-display freezers. What I call the overflow freezers. We also don’t have anywhere to store things like our Ninja Cow Farm shirts or our extra scarves.
We aren’t just adding storage though. We are doubling the customer portion of the store as well. But that is phase two of the build. We are going to expand out the rear wall of the store, to have room for more display area for items like our new corn meal. This expansion should double the inside portion of the store allowing us a lot more room for new items and customers on busy days. 
I’m also looking at adding a lot more items going forward. This time, we are going to be adding things that will display well on the shelf. Things that are canned or are in jars. I’m still working with some new folks to bring in new items, talking to different people, seeing what they offer and how it fits in with what we already do. I’m busy getting samples and trying them out with our family and the other taste testers here on the farm. There is a vetting process for anything we add, as usual.
We have a little time to pick what we want because we first need to finish our new storage room. Then we have to build out the entire back section of the store (more on that when it starts), drywall, paint, put in lighting, electrical, move the freezers, add new freezers, build/buy new shelving, move all the stock around, and then bring in stock. The next few months should be busy and exciting. It’s always fun bringing in new stuff.
Stay tuned for updates. Or even better, stop by and we’ll show you what we are doing! We are open today from 2-6 and tomorrow from 8-5. We also have plenty of pet milk available.