Natural foods, products store slated to open in Jeffersonville
Feb. 5—JEFFERSONVILLE — Jeffersonville will soon get its own natural food and products store.
L.O.S. Vibes Market is to take over the Close Enough Cafe space at 250 Spring Street in the coming weeks.
Owner Hannah Uhl said the name stands for local, organic and sustainable. Everything in the store is going to fall under at least one of those categories.
"By no means are we a one-stop-shop, it's going to have a wide variety of a whole lot of different things," Uhl said. "First and foremost locally sourced things, everything you see on this bottom shelf (of grocery items) here was all made either in Indiana or Louisville."
Those items are things like locally made pickles and condiments. Toiletries like natural deodorants and cleaning products, like a bar of dish soap, will also be available.
Uhl already has a large variety of bulk spices set up and she won't be stopping there. She said bulk laundry detergent and sustainable cleaning products will also be sold at the store.
"The whole idea is that people will really be encouraged to bring their own containers to fill," she said, adding the store won't offer plastic bags in the name of sustainablity.
It's also important for Uhl to be able to provide a space for local vendors to sell their goods. She said she's been a supporter of local businesses since she moved to Jeffersonville about five years ago.
"I started coming to the farmers market right away, fell in love with it," she said. "As much as I love the farmers market, it's always really sad when it gets to be winter time and it closes and there's just nothing that really emulates that feeling."
That's where L.O.S. Vibes Market steps in and Uhl said vendors from the Jeffersonville Farmer's Market will be able to sell their goods there.
Sara Peyton, owner of Sara's Sourdough Artisan Breads, will use the commercial kitchen at L.O.S. Vibes market to bake her products. The kitchen will be available for rent for other local vendors as well.
"If I baked on a day, you can come and get it fresh and hot," Peyton said. "My ingredients are quality and don't have a whole list of things on the back."
She said her bread is made with flour, water and salt.
"With the commercial kitchen option and our agreement, it allows me to make more, more often and to have a place to sell from, as opposed to if I don't go to the winter market, then there's nowhere else to go," Peyton said.
Uhl will also host classes at the market, offering to-go lunch options like small charcuterie and sandwiches, and will be taking charcuterie board orders.
"I will teach you how to turn a milk jug into a mini greenhouse," Uhl said about a seed class she has planned for Feb. 18 at the location. "...I really envision, not just hosting classes, but other people. If they'd like to come in, I am more than happy. I am really excited about this being a space for Jeffersonville."
Uhl said she thinks her store will provide people with more options for natural and organic items.
"I like the idea of people being able to come in and find things they otherwise wouldn't have even thought to buy," she said. "Like the dish soap, it's just a solid bar of dish soap instead of a large, plastic bottle. Simple little things like that will make maybe not to everyone a big difference, overall if a lot of people change, we'd have less plastic waste."
