By Lois Theaker, Citizen Journalist

The Red Barn Market was hopping on a warm afternoon in May. “Fine weather really brings people out to the store”, says owner/manager Russ Benwell. With a smile, Russ noted that the previous day had been “the best sales day of the year.”

So besides great weather, what else draws customers to the Red Barn?

Russ believes it starts with their philosophy, ‘Island Raised – Island Grown’. “Being from Vancouver Island and a company that is all Vancouver Island owned, we want to support Vancouver Island first where possible.”

How do they manage to keep a consistent supply of local products?

Russ acknowledges that produce is always the toughest commodity to keep in stock using only local suppliers. For a good share of the year, much of the produce is imported, but “…during the summertime, we encourage the local growers to see us.  We like to support them first and utilize the growing season.”

Throughout the store, there are local grocery items in staple and niche areas (i.e. gluten free). All their poultry is from Duncan and their beef is primarily from Quist Farm, also in Duncan. When supply allows, their pork comes from Metchosin. “There’s only so much pork grown here,” Russ says. He adds that sometimes, as with beef,  it has to be supplemented from farther afield when there’s a shortage.

The Red Barn likes letting customers know when they are buying local. “A really neat piece of our business is that we identify any Red Barn products with a black tag.  So when you look in our deli cases, anything with a black tag identifies it as made in our smoke house, or an island grazed product or a product that we have made in-house. That is a big differentiation between the Red Barn and a traditional grocery store. People really know where their food is sourced.”

Russ says even when hiring staff they embrace the philosophy of  ‘Island Raised – Island Grown’, by hiring from the area. “Staff is a key piece of our business.  They make the atmosphere that we have – which is fun.  It is an outing when you come to Red Barn.  You can have a sandwich and a coffee, and catch up.”

With four cashiers moving at full speed, a customer asked if anyone was serving ice cream. A cashier smiled as she said, “It’s self-serve today” and quickly had someone there to serve the ice cream. The cashiers often have a joke and seem to know many of their customers.

Russ explains, “There are a lot different pieces of our business that you won’t find at a big, conventional grocery store. With the local products, we may pay a little more, but in order for us to sustain the local farmers, we have to able to do that. We need to educate our consumers.”

To that end, each of the four Red Barn locations now have a “local board” announcing what is in season and on sale. This information is also available on their website.

Shoppers were quite willing to speak up about why they support  the Red Barn.

Customers Tanya and Dustin pointed out the good “feel” to the Red Barn. Tanya said, “we try to stay away from big box stores and imported food as much as possible.”  Dustin also noted, “the local meat they have here is really good and the cheap almond milk!” They agreed that “most things are a really good price, but certain things are just really cheap.  It is a great place to stock up on veggies.”

Out shopping with their dad, young Haylee and Taylor unequivocally agree that they like Red Barn banana bread the best. “We always get a slice.” However, on a day that was 27 degrees, it was not surprising to see them leaving with ice cream.

Long-time customer Ian summed it up: “Visiting from Alberta in the nineties, I was impressed with the outdoor display of produce, the generous sandwiches, friendly staff and incredible prices. It was one of the reasons I moved here – and they haven’t changed!”