The Weblog
The local foods movement is alive and well in Champaign County! Here are some updates on other projects while we finalize our virtual market:
Local Producers Map:
Our local producers map is ready for publication and you will soon be able to find it on gochampaign.com. Copies will be distributed around the community, in the local telephone book, and other “hangouts”. The guide lists the location and contact information for nearly 50 local producers within our county. The map was a project of the Local Food Council and printed with the help of some local sponsors including the Monument Square District, Champaign Bank, the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and others. It is a great start to finding a local source for Champaign County’s finest!
Cosmic News!!!
This post expired on October 30, 2023.
I know it is mid-week and you usually don’t hear from much from me but there is good news to share and as I always say about good news, why wait? So here is the scoop! Our very own Cosmic Pam is growing…and out, to Springfield! Here’s what Pam had to tell us.
“Cosmic Charlie has big news! I am going into expansion mode and landing in Springfield, downtown, in my very own Cosmic Charlie Bread and The Girl Shop…Breads and Threads!! It is so exciting that I find myself smiling, and singing, and loving it all!
Why Springfield, you ask? Back in the days of following The Grateful Dead, the old saying was…The bus pulled up, and I got on. Well, Springfield called, and I got on! Over the summer, I expanded my farmer’s market circuit to include The Springfield Farmer’s market. Oakview Farm Meats also entered into that venue. It was AMAZING! The crowds, the director, the leadership, things that I learned, watched and appreciated. Over the weeks, I developed a nice little following…I had out of town people visiting the city, people of Springfield, and Wittenburg kids. At the end of the season, I was sad to see it all go. I liked building in a new community. Oakview was also highly successful there but as sad as we were to leave, we had festivals and events to participate in.
After working my rounds of events and festivals, Cosmic Charlie took on a whole new level of fans! They were coming into town to seek me out, they were using the hotline, I was taking on more clients, and I had just landed a gig with Seasons Bistro and Grille, in downtown Springfield. I announced, via social media, more specific Facebook, that once the season was officially over, this girl needed to do some serious regrouping and think, again, about a storefront, a bake front, any kind of front!
Later in that day, it was a Monday..:)I got a call from a girl I have known for quite a long time and she is now the director of Springfield’s Center City. Center City acts much like the board I am on at Monument Square District, here, in town, but on a much grander and financially motivated scale. She never gets on Facebook but something had told her to get on, that day. She did, she saw my status, she offered me a shop front that I could not turn down.
What is unique, in their local food movement, is that their Center City, in conjunction with the Historical Heritage Center, offers an Entrepreunership Incubator program. It is a program that they pick a candidate and take that business from the ground up to a fully run, self sufficient business. I surpassed the beginning criteria due to the fact that Cosmic Charlie is fours years in operation. I run a heavy marketing side of the business, I am well established, and I know my business plan, have a vision, have my goals, and know how and when to meet them. So, after being voted in, by their board, unanimously, I am in their expansion phase. Cosmic Charlie is on the move!
Also, because of my participation and belief in eating local, seasonal, chem-free, I fit right in with the adjoining coffee cafe that is across from me. They serve only farmer’s market products from the local vendors! In season! The same with Seasons, who now carries my bread! My food philosophy and their local movement…a total match! My shop also sits at the entrance to farmer’s market alley. In the summer, I will have a helper in the Cosmic Shop, while I join the other 40/more vendors, on Saturdays, for market day!
I then approached them with this idea…since I also operate a clothing store of hippie clothing (much of how I dress at markets, in real life, at events…), I asked if I could move, Girl With Far Away Eyes, into the shop too, so that it could be a Cosmic lifestyle shop combining the whole brand and package. They LOVED it!
So, here I am…opening up my shop with both of my businesses under one roof! All of my venues in Champaign County remain the same, but now there will be more Cosmic in another city!
My exclusive opening day is this Friday! It is not my GRAND opening but it is my opening…please feel free to come and check me out!! It is also Springfield’s First Friday…about 400 people flock to their First Fridays! I am so excited!! If you come in the morning, you will get free mimosas and samples of breads. It’s a soft opening but I am ready to throw open the doors! I will also be open on Saturday…9am-1pm! The address is 117 S.Fountain Avenue, Springfield, Ohio! My shop is right inside the main entrance of the old downtown Esplanade. I share the atrium with UnMundo Cafe and the Springfield Arts Council.
My phone is (937) 926-4833…I look forward to seeing my vendor family checking me out!
Tomorrow I was asked to do an interview for the News/Sun! I will make sure to link the article when it comes out!
Thank you, for always showing me the weekly love, ordering my products, and letting me sprinkle a bit of Cosmic happiness on your day! My fellow vendors and dedicated customers have always been what this is all about!
Cosmic Charlie Bread…it’s not just bread…it’s an experience!!"
Congrats Pam! You have earned it! So be sure to mark your day on Friday to welcome Pam with some love…here on the virtual market or in person in Springfield! Way to go Pam! We are very proud of you!