ߣÏÈÉú

Get your small-town grocery store fix at Mountain Market and Supply in Eagle. Here you’ll find organic and local produce, select meats, take-and-bake meals, honey, dog treats and delicious eats with plenty of clean ingredients. Many of the items are procured from local, regional and statewide sources.

Mountain Market and Supply just opened this fall, but some if its products may look familiar, co-owner Kristin Brown worked at Knapp Harvest and when that closed, she and her husband, Bryant Chrzan, decided to open a place of their own.

“We’re from Boston originally and spent about a decade in Utah and moved to Eagle in 2020,” Brown said.

---

---

“We decided on Eagle because of its proximity to the mountain lifestyle and resorts, but also we just really liked the community feel of Eagle as a town,” Chrzan said.

Brown, who had been an event planner in Utah, was waiting for events to start up again during COVID. In the meantime, she took what was supposed to be a temporary job at Knapp Harvest in Eagle Ranch.

---

---

“I really didn’t have any retail experience so that was something new for me. But the idea that they supported the community, and they offered local and organic products really appealed to me,” Brown said.

“Knapp Harvest closed kind of unexpectedly in the spring, but Kristin was really enjoying what she was doing. So, I encouraged her to open her own store and continue it on,” Chrzan said. “She started as a temporary retail associate, but by the end, she had worked her way up to supervisor. She was doing the ordering and scheduling of staff and that’s how she had the background to open her own store and I believed she could do it.”

At first, Brown wasn’t sure.

“The whole idea seemed scary. I’ve never done anything like this. It never occurred to me that I would ever open up my own store,” Brown said. But things fell into place. A space became available on Broadway in historic downtown Eagle and Brown could visualize it as a perfect space to set up a market.

“I had some encouragement and positive words from some of my former coworkers at Knapp Harvest who thought it was a good idea. It could work as a mom-and-pop shop and I thought I could do a good job running it. Plus, the idea of working for myself was intriguing,” Brown said.

With all of Brown’s contacts from vendors she’d worked with at Knapp Harvest she was able to assemble some product lines quickly. Plus, she had always researched and found other brands she was interested in and obtained a lot of feedback from her customers.

“People really want to know where their food is coming from. So, that’s something I try to do as much as possible to make sure it is local, make sure it’s organic, make sure I can find the history of where the food’s coming from,” Brown said.

In addition to the grocery items, Brown is happy to offer a variety of gifts at Mountain Market and Supply.

“I thought it was really important to carry gift items as well because Eagle has a population that lives here full-time and there are visitors who stop in,” Brown said. “I’m trying to offer products that are either handmade or from another small business just to really support others.”

One thing Knapp Harvest fans can be happy about is that Mountain Market and Supply will carry locally-sourced honey.

“The beekeeper who used to work with us at Knapp Harvest is partnering up with me and he purchased the hives from the Knapp family. So, he’s keeping that same honey going, just under a different label,” Brown said. “Look for hyper-local honey like Eagle Valley Wildflower Honey. Hyper-local honeys are great because you can taste the difference in the flavors, whether it’s a spicy honey or a lighter floral honey. Honey has so many health benefits. It’s incredible what it can do for you.”

Mountain Market and Supply is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony on Dec. 4 with the Eagle Chamber of Commerce. Drop by during the open house from 2 to 5 p.m. and the ribbon will be cut at 4 p.m.

“We’ll offer some in-store discounts that day, honey tastings and you can get a preview of our WassailFest drink because we are also participating in the Eagle Chamber’s contest where you test out different Wassail drinks at Eagle businesses between December 5 through 7,” Brown said.

No not knowing what she was getting into, Brown and Chrzan are feeling pretty comfortable in their new role of being small business owners in Eagle.

“What keeps us driving forward and what makes for good conversations with our customers is that we both really have a passion for food. We love to cook, and we like to cook with nice ingredients. So, that passion goes into what Kristin is selecting to bring into the store,” Chrzan said. “It also brings the natural enthusiasm out when we’re talking to people as they’re shopping with us. That’s what drives us.”

Keep tabs on what’s happening at Mountain Market and Supply, hours of operation and any new offerings by following them on .