B Y SUSANNE RUDER
PHOTOGRAPH Y B Y JOANNE RATAJCZAK
RE TAILER OF distinction
Springridge Farm
Its pastoral setting invites
guests to wander or just
relax on the grounds,
and most everyone
who visits wants to take
a piece of the experience
home with them
RUNNER-UP
By the Numbers
Square Footage: 5000
Suppliers: 130
Employees: 75
Years in Business:
35
THE BACK STORY
Springridge Farm is at its heart a 72-acre
fruit farm on the Niagara Escarpment in
Milton, Ont., with four unique businesses
in one: a farm, food producer, entertainment destination and thriving retail
operation. While the four sides are symbiotic, “Retail saved the farm,” says owner
Laura Hughes.
Located in a restored 19th century
barn, The Farm Shoppe is Springridge’s
5000-square-foot two-level retail space
characterized by warm, refinished antique
barn-board floors and wooden beams. Rustic
farm-built displays are filled with carefully
chosen treasures, from sparkling seasonal
decorations and delectable preserves
made from family recipes to cookbooks,
jewellery, scarves and purses. The head of
Morris the Moose oversees the shop floor,
which is typically filled with patrons lingering over tasteful gifts and garden merchandise or enjoying a bite to eat in the café area.
Success has been customer-driven. In the
1970s, Springridge was a sour cherry farm,
but as that became unsustainable the family
sought value-added opportunities. They offered pick-your-own strawberries and guests
soon began requesting refreshments and
preserves, pies and tarts. School tours, farm
animals and birthday parties followed, and
gifts developed organically after that.
Springridge is a family affair with Laura’s
son Tom Hughes and daughter Amy
Williams heavily involved in daily opera-
tions. Her husband, “Farmer John”, oversees
the agricultural side, while Laura helms re-
tail. “I love the challenge of a sale and the
challenge of buying. I’ve always enjoyed the
creativity of promoting.” With annual retail
sales of more than $2 million (more than
half the total receipts of the farm),
“Springridge has grown into something
much bigger than we ever dreamed of. It’s
exciting, it’s challenging, it’s a lifestyle and
we love it.”
The keys to remaining profitable, says
Laura, will be continuing to listen to their
customers, thinking outside the box and
remaining flexible in order to adjust to the
ever-changing market.
SUCCESS S TORIES
Springridge’s rural location requires creative marketing. “There’s lots of ways you
can do retail; it doesn’t have to be in a mall
and it doesn’t have to be on a main street
if you’re willing to do whatever you can to
promote it,” says Laura.
In 2010, Springridge began developing
a reputation for after-hours book talks and
signings over wine and hors d’oeuvres with
celebrity authors like Elizabeth Baird, Lucy
Waverman, David Rocco, Anna Olson and
Michael Smith (who attracted more than
500 people). Cookbooks, now a growing
category for the shop, are carefully themed
with specialty food displays.
In the spring of 2011, a down economy
called for creativity and fun. The team
