Historic dairy barn offers new retail space in Wassaic

WASSAIC — An organic food and produce vendor has opened a permanent space in the Wassaic Commons farmers market.

Maggie’s Delivery Service, a produce and home goods business run by Maggie Bahr, has had a stall as part of the market since it opened this past summer.

Now, Bahr can worry less about setup. Instead of a stall, Maggie’s Delivery Service — henceforth known simply as Maggie’s — now occupies part of the refurbished barn on Main Street in Wassaic. Bahr’s organic produce, cheeses, candles, soaps, and other items are spread out over 900 square feet of the Wassaic Commons — about a quarter of the space.

Wassaic Commons’ co-owners Munawar Ahmed and Matthew Schnepf issued a joint statement on the barn’s new layout, saying, “Maggie is no longer a vendor. She will officially be a tenant as of Nov. 1.”

Maggie’s is open for business on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The space is steps away from the popular coffee and baked goods destination Vitsky Bakery, also located in the barn. In the spring, Bahr has plans to open the space in the afternoon for what she calls “siesta hours.”

Bahr won’t be going it alone. She’s splitting the space — and the rent — with fellow makers Veronica Tyson-Strait of Novae Farm & Gardens and J.Y. Lym of OM Champagne Tea. Tyson-Strait is a farmer and artist offering flowers, tea blends, hot sauce, and other seasonal products. Lym offers a line of probiotic drinks, including kombucha and a turmeric tonic.

Bahr’s new space occupies about a quarter of a historic dairy barn in the hamlet center.Photo by Graham Corrigan

For Bahr, sharing the space has been its own reward. “It’s amazing how good it feels,” she said. “We had no business plan, just people coming in and expecting to see us.”

The produce is what keeps people coming back, Bahr said. She sources from local farmers as much as possible. This past weekend, Maggie’s had apples, pears, cauliflower, radicchio, and six different kinds of potatoes available alongside shelves of tallow products and cheeses. “We’re really not trying to be a grocery store,” Bahr said. “We’re trying to be a specialty food store … But it’s really important for me to have consistency with a few items.”

Bahr and Tyson-Strait plan to keep expanding their offerings as they grow into the space. Workshops, tastings and community events are in the offing. Bahr says the new space at Wassaic Commons is also big enough to double as a studio space for her fellow makers. At the Amenia Harvest Festival last month, Tyson-Strait’s flower crowns were a hit with residents.

Now, she’s bringing that creativity to Wassaic Commons alongside Bahr and Lym’s Champagne tea.

“Maggie was one of our most enterprising and savvy vendors at our first seasonal farmers market,” Ahmed and Schnepf said in their statement. “She did great and built up a loyal following and customer base … Since we purchased the big green barn in 2017, our vision here at Wassaic Commons has always been to serve as an incubator for small business owners, makers, movers, and shakers. It’s a much-needed addition to Main Street.”

Schnepf, who is an architect by trade, designed the expansion of Maggie’s space. The additions were installed by Chimney Rock Construction, the same company responsible for rehabbing the Wassaic Commons barn.

Bahr shares her new space with fellow makers Veronica Tyson-Strait and J.Y. Lym. Photo by Graham Corrigan