Eye On | Sage Mountain Natural Foods

Her nearly two decades of experience as an organic farmer, though, definitely played a part then — and continues today.

Originally from North Carolina, she attended college in Massachusetts and, in the summer of 2000, took a job on a farm in Ipswich where she "fell in love" with farming. After graduating, she and her dog set off on a cross-country adventure to explore the Cascade Mountains and see what it was like to farm “out west,” she said.

She interned at Gibbs Organic Farm and Tierra Learning Center up the Chumstick valley. A few years later, she was hired to manage Tierra Learning Center Organic Gardens and ultimately joined the Gibbs family, marrying the eldest son, Woody. In 2008, she took over part of her father-in-law’s land to start her own farm business — Gibbs Farm. She helped expand the farm’s presence as a farmers market vendor and food co-op, adding a commercial kitchen to make sauerkraut and other added-value products. She also taught sustainable agriculture classes at Wenatchee Valley College, managing the campus greenhouse.

“The beginnings of my business education came from observing other business owners, asking lots of questions of those I thought were doing a good job of it, and trial and error with my farm business,” she said.

One of those business owners was Susan Schwartz, who had started Sage Mountain Natural Foods in Leavenworth in 1998.

“I was a customer and also sold produce to the store while I was farming for many years,” Gibbs said.

The two also became friends.

“I knew she was getting ready to retire and I was ready for a career change,” Gibbs said of discussions leading up to her purchase of the retail outlet in late 2017. The store at that time was located in about 1,800 square feet of leased space at 11734-A Highway 2, in the commercial space just up from the Saw Shop and Jerry’s Auto Supply.

Gibbs officially started running the store on Jan. 1, 2018.

“I already had many ideas about how I wanted to see it grow,” she said. “Over the months prior to taking the business on, I spent a lot of time meeting with other health food store owners and managers hoping to glean advice and learn from their mistakes.”

She saw opportunity in adding products and creating a “bigger, more bountiful produce department,” she said. She also wanted to open a deli, which required installing a commercial kitchen.

The kitchen was built that summer, and the deli and soup bar opened in September as Gibbs continued to adjust the store’s offerings based on customer feedback. She received her license to sell beer and wine in July 2018. She also offered classes, presentations and a giant zucchini contest.

“We have always been, and still are, mostly local supported,” she said.

That became even more apparent with the pandemic’s arrival in early 2020.

“My vision aims to be based on what our community wants in our type of store and that community need increased during the pandemic as even more people wanted access to healthy food and natural medicine options,” she said.

At the same time, the restrictions and ever-changing protocols added new challenges.

“Our struggles were similar to most other small business owner's struggles during the pandemic, and we had to be creative and evolve like everyone else, which was stressful, confusing and daunting much of the time,” she said. “We were always on the edge of not having enough employees, which was wearing on the employees we did have.”

The stress was compounded in 2021 by the unexpected opportunity to move to a larger location across the highway.

“I was not looking to relocate, because I had just renovated the spot we were in, but someone approached us asking if we would be interested in the spot we are in now and it was an opportunity I knew I should not pass up,” she said.

With about 3,500 square feet of commercial space, it had room for growth, more visibility and better parking.

“We were quickly growing out of the old spot, so we made the leap. That was another huge learning curve!” she said.

The business opened in its new location at 11685 Highway 2 on June 6, 2021 — not only in the middle of the pandemic, but also in the middle of the busy produce season.

“I am so grateful for my core staff that has stayed with me through these past years,” she said. “We wouldn't be where we are today without them. We made the big move to a new location, which was insanely stressful, but much needed and definitely worth it.”

The business has continued to blossom. When she purchased the business, she had five or six employees. That has grown now to 18, including kitchen staff.

“We are known for our great produce selection,” she said, much of which includes goods from local farmers when in season. "Between local milk, eggs, salsa, sauerkraut, produce, locally roasted coffee, wine cider and beer, health and beauty items, herbal tinctures, art and crafts — and probably more — we are buying from around 40-50 local vendors depending on the time of year."

The grab-and-go deli options are very popular, she said.

"Customers also appreciate that we offer the option to special order products if they are looking for items that we don't carry in the store," she said.

Since the move, she has noted a rise in out-of-town customers, she said, but locals continue to be the focus.

“People may think of us as more of a specialty store, but we are a full grocery store and, as we work to continue to expand our product selection, that is the vision we keep in mind,” she said.

The goal is to become a place where people shop for all their groceries, which means balancing price points and diversity of product for customers of all ages and family sizes, while still keeping to the store's sustainability mission.

"That includes bringing in healthy food with clean ingredients, produced by reputable companies that support the health of people and planet," she said.