Salt Marsh Market

Garrett and Brandy Shaver join Christa today to talk about their unique Surf City shop in the popular Triton Village: Salt Marsh Market!

Whatever you’re craving, Salt Marsh Market has something to satisfy! They offer NC craft beer in the bottle and on tap, wine and refreshing wine slushies, coffee, organic smoothies, the BEST shakes made from gelato, Grab & Go lunches, and unique snacks. If you don’t feel like cooking tonight, pick out one of their Take & Bakes, charcuterie plates, or cookies and breads baked fresh daily!

There’s so much more to discover at Salt Marsh Market! Take a listen, then give them a visit and explore!

Address: 100 A Charlie Medlin Dr, Surf City, NC 28445
Phone: (910) 802-0900
Email: info@saltmarshmarket.com
Follow Salt Marsh Market on both Facebook and Instagram

Topsail Insider is Sponsored by Saltwater Suites & Resort - Topsail Island’s premier luxury hospitality experience! Book your beach getaway today at SaltwaterTopsail.comor call (910) 886-4818!

Topsail Insider is also Sponsored by Surf City Line! Come out for Beachin’ Bowls, Margaritas, and Live Music, and enjoy your meal on their top deck with Ocean Views! Visit SurfCityLineNC.com for their full food, bar, and brunch menus!

Topsail Insider is edited by Jim Mendes-Pouget.
jimpouget@gmail.com | http://bit.ly/PodcastsByJim.

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Transcript

Topsail Insider Intro and What’s Coming Up!

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to Topsail Insider, where you can hear all about the businesses and events in the beautiful coastal towns in the greater Topsail area of North Carolina. Coming up today, we're talking to Garrett and Brandy Shaver. They are just the coolest couple behind Salt Marsh Market. It's a real favorite for locals and visitors alike. Just check out their reviews. They're in Surf City, north Carolina. This truly delightful little grocery store is packed with specialty foods and gift items, freshly baked goods and a cozy bar serving beer, wine and their amazing shakes and wine slushies. We'll explore the array of products they offer today on Topsail Insider.

Speaker 1 0:50

Experience a new level of luxury on Topsail Island at Saltwater Suites in Surf City, north Carolina. With no nightly minimum, you can enjoy short getaways or an extended stay. Each suite features luxury bedding, full kitchens with dining tables and dishwashers, and all suites other than the three ADA suites have full-size washers and dryers. And don't forget about those beautiful ocean views. 24-7. Self-check-in provides a hassle-free and seamless experience. Saltwater Suites is the perfect choice for your next beach getaway. Book your next Topsail visit at saltwatertopsailcom or call 910-886-4818.

Sponsor: Surf City Line Bar and Restaurant

Speaker 1 1:34

Saltwater Suites Topsail Island's premier luxury hospitality experience. Come on out to Surf City Line for the best made-from-scratch beach and bowls on Topsail Island. Treat yourself to their delicious bowls with shrimp, steak, fish, chicken or pork, or enjoy their peel-and-eat shrimp beach break salads and more. They offer a full bar serving handcrafted cocktails, incredible margaritas and they proudly serve North Carolina craft beer. The line boasts the biggest deck on the island with three levels for listening to live music, relaxing in the sun, or head on up to the top deck to enjoy your meal with ocean views. Visit SurfCityLineNCcom for their full menus. The best service and beach vibes on the island await you at 2112 north new river drive.

Introduction to Garrett and Brandy Shaver and Salt Marsh Market

Speaker 1 2:30

Whether you're a local or visiting from out of town, celebrating a special occasion or just soaking up the sun with family and friends, it's always a great time at surf city City line. Hello everyone and welcome to Topsail Insider. My name is Krista and I am your host. Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Garrett and Brandy Shaver. They are the owners of Salt Marsh Market. Salt Marsh Market is located in the popular Triton Village Shopping Center and that's on Charlie Medlin Drive in Surf City, north Carolina. Garrett and Brandy, thank you so much for joining me today.

Speaker 2 3:09

Thank you for having us, thank you for having us.

Speaker 1 3:11

You offer a lot at your store. You've filled it with such an amazing array of products, so we're going to talk about all of those, but for now, for anyone who doesn't know the Salt Marsh Market, give me just an overview of what your store is about and tell me what makes it different from all the others.

Speaker 2 3:28

Well, first and foremost, it is a lot crammed into 1,200 square feet. That's a common theme with newcomers to the store. Wow, it's a lot to look at. It is, but just take your time and work your way around and you'll find something that you're looking for. We are a market concept. We do have take-and-bake foods prepared meals, wraps you can eat on site, a lot of snack stuff. We have a big selection of sauces and rubs, chips, things of that nature, charcuterie type things, meat and cheese trays. We also have an eight-person bar that you can sit and have a glass of wine or a draft beer, or even open a bottle of wine if you'd like, and a good large size selection of to-go beer and wine.

Speaker 1 4:14

The bar was full, by the way, when I walked in. I thought I was going to belly up to the bar and we were going to sit there and chat while.

Speaker 2 4:20

I typed away. We had planned to do that, but we could not.

Speaker 1 4:23

No, it was packed. I loved seeing it.

Speaker 2 4:25

Some of the other stuff, a lot of local vendors, whether it be local right there in Surf City or North Carolina. In general, apparel is really big for us.

Speaker 1 4:34

It's not a chain grocery store, it's independently owned. Can you tell me a little bit?

Family-Owned and Operated

Speaker 3 4:38

about that? Absolutely. We definitely are family owned and operated. We do have employees. We have six right now. My first employee was my mother and my son. I did end up firing my mother what? It was kind of a joke, or it started out as a joke. She loved working with us but she also wanted to move back to Massachusetts and so I fired her because she would not leave otherwise. She felt really she wanted to stay and help with the store, but she's back now in Hampstead, so really she wanted to stay and help with the store.

Speaker 3 5:04

But she's back now in Hampstead. So there is that. Oh, she is. And then my son also was one of our first employees and he decided working for his parents was not what he wanted to do either. Do not blame him, not one bit, but we needed them a lot when we first opened and there was so much going on we were just very busy, so it was great having them there. Garrett and I obviously work together a lot.

Speaker 1 5:22

Yeah, sometimes I wonder how we've been in wife team here.

Speaker 2 5:26

It has its challenges, but it's very rewarding.

Speaker 3 5:29

We work well together. We definitely have a good balance of what he does and what I do, and they're very different at the store, so it kind of gives us a little separation from each other because we both are doing very different things.

Speaker 1 5:40

Yeah, garrett, you handle beer and wine primarily.

Speaker 2 5:43

Yes.

Speaker 1 5:43

And the food too, or no?

Speaker 2 5:44

Some of the food, but most of the food items, the specialty items, that's Brandy's, that's Brandy's, yeah Right, and she's really good at it.

Speaker 3 5:52

So Well, thank you.

Personal History

Speaker 1 5:53

Garrett, let's talk about your personal history. You did mention that your mother was from Massachusetts, so I'm assuming you're originally from Mass. I am Okay, and what brought you here to North Carolina?

Speaker 3 6:03

originally it was South Carolina. I've been here for probably 17 years, 20 years a while. I came to Wilmington, probably in 2008. And I came here for a boy, fell in love with Wilmington and stayed. That's not the boy.

Speaker 1 6:20

No, no, no, different boy Different boy, boy.

Speaker 3 6:24

Well, that's my story, though.

Speaker 1 6:27

It's all good, we all have a story. Okay, you two are really young and we're not even thinking about retirement at this stage, are we?

Speaker 3 6:35

No, I was thinking about next week. I like to work. I'm kidding, I need to work, I need something to do. Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1 6:42

And Garrett, where are you from originally?

Speaker 2 6:44

Originally from Southport.

Speaker 1 6:46

Oh, that's such a great area.

Speaker 2 6:47

Love Southport A little different than when I grew up there, but it's still very nice. Still have parents on Caswell Beach and we visit them quite often. Moved to Wilmington in 96. Went to UNCW oh nice, and I stayed.

Speaker 1 7:02

Can I ask what you studied? Marketing, marketing, business. Yes, now you guys don't live here in the Topsail area, you're living in Wilmington, is that right, correct? What made you decide to open your store here in the Topsail?

Speaker 3 7:15

area. Well, we never had intentions of having a store in Topsail before we had one in Wilmington. However, we saw the location one day, had a letter of intent the next day. Oh wow, we knew that location was perfect for what we were doing. So of course we didn't pass that up and we have yet to find a location that we would like to do. A second location in Are you planning on doing?

Speaker 1 7:35

a second location? Absolutely, it's always been the idea.

Speaker 3 7:38

That's great, but location, location, location, and we just haven't found what we're looking for. Would you put it? In Wilmington Possibly? It really depends. I think what we're looking for is we want something with outside seating area, something that maybe not on a strip mall like we are now, just something different, and those are hard to come by, and there's a lot of people looking for the same thing as well.

Speaker 2 7:57

What we do is very unique and the location has to be unique or pretty dialed in. It takes a certain spot for us to be successful. We feel like.

Speaker 1 8:09

You mentioned that you wouldn't choose to be in another strip mall area. There's a lot of foot traffic where you are currently. Are you looking for like a standalone for your second location?

Speaker 2 8:18

Ideally it would be standalone. That's hard to come by.

Speaker 1 8:20

Yeah, y'all need something bigger.

Speaker 2 8:22

Yes, definitely bigger.

Speaker 3 8:24

Yeah, I want to buy more things, kind of like the new place Wilmy Woody in their truck.

Speaker 1 8:28

Oh, yes, yes.

Speaker 2 8:30

That building they have, that they're rehabbing, is even I think it's even smaller.

Speaker 1 8:34

It is small but it's cute and that's like that.

Speaker 2 8:36

We look, we ride by it every day and tiny, but they're putting that nice deck around it.

Speaker 1 8:42

I'm sure they're going to make a lot out of the backyard at that right, I think they're utilizing every square inch of that property. I haven't seen any plans or anything, but I did just read that article. It's pretty exciting. Have you had their pizza?

Speaker 3 8:55

Oh yeah, it's a busy night when we have them. They're at Salted Turtle a lot, so when they're there it's usually a pretty busy evening for us. In general, great pizza Awesome.

Speaker 1 9:05

How did you two meet? Wait, wait, brandy. I just want to say that Garrett told me it was love at first sight. I'm just kidding, I like it.

Speaker 3 9:14

I like it. It was not love at first sight.

Speaker 2 9:18

She picked up on that very quickly in your notes.

Speaker 1 9:21

I knew she would. I put it in there just for her. I was just asking, like trying to get some information about you. And I was like, was it love at first sight? And he just looked at me like if you ask her that, she's going to think I put you up to that.

Speaker 3 9:33

Well, the story is, I definitely dated him a lot longer than he dated me, but that's okay. I knew what I wanted and I was not going to give up, and so and here we are. That's right.

Speaker 2 9:43

It all worked out.

Speaker 3 9:43

How long have y'all been together? We met back in 2010. We were engaged since 2015. We just recently got married in 2023. Yeah, oh, wow, congratulations.

Speaker 1 9:54

Thank you, yeah, but we've been together for quite some time and we finally decided to make it official, all right, so let's talk about what you did prior to Saltmarsh Market, because, garrett, you handle the beer and wine primarily, but you have a lot of experience in beer and wine, right?

Speaker 2 10:09

Yes, tell me a little bit about that I worked in beer distribution for almost 17 years prior to this, wore a lot of hats, did a lot of different things on-premise, off-premise sales, craft brand managing and a lot of that translates to what I do now.

Speaker 3 10:25

And what about you? I was in the medical field for quite some time. I ended up running a small medical clinic before opening the store, which gave me a really good understanding of what it takes to run a small business, and I think that was really helpful for us opening our business as well. I do all the QuickBooks and that part of it.

Speaker 2 10:42

I think it's interesting what we both kind of our takeaways from our previous careers. Like some of the things that like merchandising, branding and marketing. The things that I apply now were not the things that I thought would translate like they do.

Speaker 1 10:58

It sounds like, from your beer and wine experience and also your marketing degree, that you're coming to the table with a lot of knowledge and and you're coming to the table with with the back end knowledge, but it's different knowledge, but you're selling a whole different realm of stuff. I would imagine this is more fun, a lot more fun.

Speaker 3 11:17

I don't do any personal shopping anymore, because all I do is buy things for the store, yeah, and then I'm all shopped out and you get a little retail therapy that helps the business and doesn't hurt your wallet Absolutely. I'm a big fan. It's just as much fun.

Speaker 2 11:31

It satisfies that urge.

Speaker 1 11:32

What was it that inspired you to take the leap and open up your own store?

Speaker 2 11:39

So the big turning point, I think, would have been when my mother passed away very suddenly in November of 2020. That was very unexpected. This was already in the works and but we were still hesitant, we had not committed.

Speaker 1 11:55

But you were already thinking about opening the store.

Speaker 2 11:57

We were planning and working on it, but we hadn't reached the point of no return and we both looked at each other and thought what are we waiting on? You know, tomorrow's not guaranteed. Like we're going to do it, let's do it.

Speaker 1 12:10

Yeah, so you guys are both first-time business owners with Salt Marsh Market A lot of first-time business owners. We don't know what we're doing.

Speaker 2 12:25

We flounder a little bit. What hurdles did you face when you were opening up, or deciding to open up, saltmarsh Market? The biggest hurdle, and was right in the beginning, was the initial commitment to move on from careers and take the leap.

Speaker 3 12:31

Quit our jobs without another job in mind. Yes.

Speaker 1 12:35

It is frightening.

Speaker 2 12:36

Yeah, absolutely, and for both of us to do that. That was the biggest.

Why the Market Concept?

Speaker 3 12:40

I think. If you remember, though, it was never my intention to come on full time at the store. I wanted a career change and I wanted to leave where I was, so it was a good time for me to do it, to help him open the store and then find something else for me to do. I've been trying to leave ever since, but he won't let me. No, no, me, no. There's no way he could. She's not going anywhere. It's not a one person job. It really does take the both of us, and even that like I could never do what he does, and I could never even try to do what he does in beer and wine, you know, dealing with all of the vendors, and he already knows everybody in that industry, so that was a really easy thing for us to get into because of his background.

Speaker 1 13:17

What was the spark? What inspired you to say I think we need to open a grocery? We never said that, actually, how did it turn into Saltmarsh Market?

Speaker 3 13:28

It started out as beer and wine, with his background, and just where we were in the area north end of Wilmington, we were trying to look at something beer, wine bottle shop-ish, and then COVID happened, and then, of course, those places were being closed, and so then Garrett got the idea of reaching out to the Veggie Wagon that were also long-term customers of his, through the beer and wine you mentioned, the Veggie.

Speaker 1 13:49

Wagon in our pre-interview. But for the listeners who may not know what they are, tell me what they do and how that helped you go in the direction that you went.

Speaker 2 13:57

So they started out in Carolina Beach with a shop much like ours now and making all their food in the back in their kitchen, and it quickly grew into another store. So they have two stores now and a standalone production kitchen that makes our food their food and food for other stores as well.

Speaker 3 14:16

We would not be able to do what we do without the veggie wagon, simply saying that we have 1,200 square feet. You've been in the store. The space is very limited. Our backroom is even smaller, and so having that relationship with them where they can get us the fresh food sandwiches and all of our wraps, all of our to-go food it's all done by them, so that really allows us to be able to be in the footprint that we are and also be able to offer those offerings be able to be in the footprint that we are and also be able to offer those offerings.

Speaker 1 14:41

You mentioned COVID. Did you open after COVID?

Speaker 2 14:43

We did, but we signed the lease in January of 21. So right on the heels.

Speaker 3 14:50

We opened a business during COVID.

Speaker 2 14:52

Or we had grand plans to. We tried to. Yes, it did take us a year, almost exact to the day, to get open.

Speaker 3 14:59

We have a walk-up window, though that walk-up window is only there because it was COVID time when we were trying to do the build-out.

Speaker 1 15:06

Are you still using that walk-up?

Speaker 3 15:07

window. Oh yeah, absolutely. We have a doorbell and everything.

Speaker 2 15:09

By the time we opened, I think most of the COVID stuff had kind of blown over and people were more comfortable.

The Bar, Local Craft Beer, and Wine

Speaker 3 15:17

Now the window is just a walk-up window for people sitting outside, so they don't have to come inside to grab their drinks and we can serve them out the window, okay.

Speaker 1 15:31

All right, so let's talk about that bar first. It is a smaller bar, but even so, I will say that I walked in and it was completely full. You offer beer on tap.

Speaker 2 15:47

So tell me what types of beer you're offering on tap? Mainly local, some regional and national brands, but a lot of local craft beer. Right now we have our Beachcomber, our Honey Blonde from Outer Dunes, which is our collaboration beer that we've done with them.

Speaker 1 15:58

Oh, tell me about that.

Speaker 2 15:59

Two years in a row. The folks at Outer Dunes, good friends of ours, we joined with them last year. We wanted to do a beer with them because collaborations are fun, and we made a Honey Blonde and it was a big hit. And it's been a big hit this year as well.

Speaker 1 16:15

You've got a shelf full of all different kinds of wines there. You have some standard wines behind the bar that you serve on the regular. But you also mentioned that you can go get a bottle off the shelf and open that, have some there and then take it home.

Speaker 3 16:26

Absolutely no corking fee or anything. We really do encourage customers to come in and enjoy a bottle of wine. Try some different things, bring a friend and you can make a day of it, or a couple hours at least.

Speaker 2 16:38

Yes, you can.

Speaker 1 16:40

Does anyone ever walk out with a partial bottle?

Speaker 3 16:42

No, it really does not happen.

Speaker 2 16:45

Not very often.

Coffee, Shakes, Organic Smoothies, and Wine Slushies!

Speaker 3 16:46

They polish that off right there, I know. Or they make friends at the bar. We have seen so many relationships happen at the bar and friendships form and we've met so many awesome people. But our bar is kind of like a little it's a little. I love it. But Our bar is kind of like a little it's a little, I love it, but it's a little hub for people to meet and I've seen a lot of friendships forged there.

Speaker 2 17:01

It definitely has become that kind of a meeting point or a hub for the local neighborhoods.

Speaker 1 17:08

And do you get a lot of tourists coming in as well this time of year? Absolutely. When I went there, I had a coffee and it was delicious, by the way, I love to hear that it was before. I heard about the shakes. You do offer a full range of coffee drinks, but tell me about the shakes. Why are people raving about these shakes?

Speaker 3 17:31

It's the gelato. The gelato, oh, absolutely. Thank you, veggie Wagon. They do a house-made gelato for us that we make our milkshakes with. Oh, wow, okay, and it is fantastic. Gelato, if you don't know, is a little bit. It's a lot like ice cream, but it's less milk fat. It's turned a little bit slower so there's less air incorporation, so you get a lighter in taste but a creamier in texture.

Speaker 1 17:46

It really does make a difference. It definitely is creamy, yeah, so what flavors are you offering back there?

Speaker 3 17:50

We have quite a few. Our most popular is the green mint, which is my least favorite the chocolate chip green mint. We also do a salt marsh, which is the salted caramel and marshmallow which is our signature drink for coffee, milkshakes or whatever you want to make it with.

Speaker 1 18:06

And I saw somewhere on Facebook, or perhaps it was Yelp, but I saw smoothies. Are they one and the same You're offering?

Speaker 3 18:12

both, so a gelato milkshake, and then we do smoothies as well, which we make with a organic fruit puree, local honey, ice and your choice of milk. They're fantastic, I didn't know. And if you really want to get adventurous, you can actually replace the milk with wine.

Speaker 1 18:26

Let's go ahead and get to those wine slushies. First of all, do you have a special wine machine and are there different flavors?

Speaker 2 18:35

Everyone's made by hand. What?

Speaker 3 18:37

Made by hand. To order Now the machines. I do love a machine, but we started with this and they were doing really well. So if it's not in progress, we're not going to fix it. But we do the same concept as our smoothie, but we literally just replace the milk with the wine. Oh, so you get a five-ounce pour and you get a three-ounce of fruit and then ice and we blend it with local honey. It could be a wine that you have by the glass behind the bar. We have a red-white blend in the back that we use for wine slushies. Oh, okay, also, we do a sangria, which is my favorite.

Speaker 2 19:06

Oh, that would be so good.

Impressive Selection of Beer and Wine from the Shelf

Speaker 3 19:07

With a little bit of cinnamon it tastes tropical. For whatever reason I know it's a sangria wine slushie but they're very tasty and probably one of our most Popular that and the Prosecco, mango or the Strawberry Rosé.

Speaker 2 19:19

You really can't go wrong with any of the flavors. You really can't.

Speaker 1 19:22

Your store offers also an impressive selection of beer and wine from the shelf. So, garrett, how are you going about choosing which wines and beers you're going to stock on the shelf? And also, you mentioned what was the brewery you mentioned earlier.

Speaker 2 19:37

Outer.

Speaker 1 19:37

Dunes Brewery Outer Dunes. Are there any other breweries that you're working with to get your shelves stocked?

Speaker 2 19:41

Absolutely. We stock most of the local breweries Outer Dunes, mad Mole, flying Machine, wrightsville Beach, wilmington Brewing, bill's, waterline, and then regional stuff too. Like you know, the Veil Dissolver in Asheville, burial out of Asheville, and one of our new favorites that we're able to get now is Other Half out of Brooklyn.

Speaker 1 19:59

Brooklyn, New York.

Speaker 2 20:00

Yes.

Speaker 1 20:01

Oh my gosh, you named over a ton of local breweries.

Speaker 2 20:05

Yes, we're fortunate to have so many breweries locally.

Speaker 1 20:08

Yeah, truly, and some really really good beer. So these must be all the connections that you made when you were working down in Wilmington. Some of yes, well, that's nice. And the wine selection any specialty wines there, any local wines, are they standard?

Speaker 2 20:22

We do have a few wines from North Carolina sanctuary vineyards.

Speaker 1 20:26

Where are they located?

Speaker 2 20:27

Outer Banks.

Speaker 3 20:29

Okay, so a lot of our wines come from smaller vineyards, so they're less additives, low intervention, not mass produced. Absolutely. They're not trying to make the wine taste the same every year. You're going to have a different wine every year because they're not going to have.

Speaker 3 20:42

They're not adding things to it. You're going to get something really good in a bottle. In our prices we have something for everybody. We can beat grocery store prices at the bottle of wine. I can guarantee you'll be a lot better, less sulfites and just better for you all around nice, unless you drink the whole bottle our selection.

Grab & Go, Take & Bake, Baked Goods, Unique Snacks and More!

Speaker 2 20:59

Our selection is going to be stuff you're not going to find in the grocery stores, like at the Lowe's.

Speaker 1 21:02

Foods or something.

Speaker 2 21:03

There's a couple bottles that are popular, that people like, but 98% of our selection is going to be found only in a store like ours or a wine specialty shop Wonderful.

Speaker 1 21:13

Okay, let's go to the food. You have several refrigerators and freezers in there, so you have people who are stopping in for lunch, because I saw them there. So I'm assuming that you have like sandwiches and things that you can eat right there on site. But you also had some frozen foods. You mentioned taken bakes earlier, and then I did see some reviews about cheese balls and charcuteries.

Speaker 3 21:35

So we do have anything from sandwiches and wraps, salads, shakers, which are little chicken and rice and vegetables that you can literally shake with a little bit of dressing. I used to eat them all the time driving back to work when I would pick them up from the veggie wagon. We also have a lot of pre-made meals for dinner or lunch, but we have Garrett's favorite, the beef stroganoff.

Speaker 2 21:54

Yes, love it.

Speaker 3 21:59

Shrimp and grits and shrimp scampi are our two new meals and they've been a huge hit. We have spaghetti and meatballs macaroni and cheese Stuffed shells. Kung pao chicken. Chicken tikka.

Speaker 1 22:06

These are all family size. Like I could come home and feed my family a four.

Speaker 2 22:10

Some are, some aren't.

Speaker 1 22:11

Depending on how your family eats.

Speaker 3 22:12

I can make one last meal, a couple of meals. If Garrett's there, then it's going to be a one-mealer. We might be able to share it. It does depend. But we do have frozen meals as well that are a little bit more of a bigger serving, gotcha. We have lasagnas and we have vegetable and sausage. What about?

Speaker 1 22:26

the appetizers? Do y'all sell the cheese balls and the charcuterie plates?

Speaker 3 22:31

We have meat and cheese trays. We have habanero stuffed peppers, which are one of our biggest hits in that cooler. We have cheese balls, cheese ball samplers, stuffed grape leaves.

Speaker 1 22:41

And I saw the baked goods. I was there in the afternoon, but I have heard that it smells delicious in the morning and you guys are actually baking there on site every morning. We do. I saw like a. Was it a banana bread?

Speaker 3 22:54

Oh, yes, yeah, yeah, banana bread, no nuts, that's my favorite.

Speaker 1 22:57

It looked really good. It looked really good. It looked really moist, but tell me what other baked goods you're serving there.

Speaker 3 23:02

Sure, we do a bunch of cookies, anywhere from lemon, ginger, chocolate chip brownie cookies. We do peanut butter brownies. We have the sweetbreads, banana, cinnamon and pumpkin dark chocolate. We bake those daily. We also have sourdough and baguettes.

Speaker 1 23:16

We bake it as we need it daily. And also I noticed that your shelves are loaded with specialty food items. Those were the sauces and things that in the rubs that you were mentioning earlier. What are some of your hottest items that just fly off the shelf?

Speaker 2 23:30

It's always changing, so let me think about what do we have right now? One of my favorite things we have right now would be the Hank sauce and the Qualified Captain collaboration.

Speaker 1 23:40

The Hank Sauce and the.

Speaker 2 23:42

Hank Sauce Uh-huh, they make a variety of hot sauces. It's pretty popular. Okay, mm-hmm, but they've done a collaboration with Qualified Captain. It's a two-pack called In the Channel it's a green sauce of Sailor's Delight, okay, and the red sauce is the fish whistle, and they're good. It's a good little gift pack. Another one that I really get a kick out of that we did really well with and so we've kept for a while, is from Spicewalla, you know T-Pain.

Speaker 3 24:11

Yeah, they did a. Let me buy you a drink.

Speaker 2 24:14

That's the one he has a line. It's a set of three like a wing dust or seasoning. It's a set of three like a wing dust or seasoning. It's really neat.

Speaker 1 24:22

This is T Payne's line.

Speaker 2 24:24

Yes, that he did in collaboration with Spicewalla.

Speaker 3 24:26

Sugar Daddy, hot Daddy or what's the other one? I don't remember all the names of them, just Sugar Daddy is the only one I can think of.

Speaker 2 24:33

That's the only one you remember. That's the only one and one of the you know. Talking about the different things that we have and the surprises sometimes, one of our local favorites now is by Stammy's Pickles out of Cherryville, north Carolina. It's spicy pickled quail eggs.

Speaker 1 24:51

I saw those. They're a bit of a local favorite these days. They are good. I saw them on the shelf and I checked it out and then I was like I'll pass.

Speaker 3 25:01

I questioned it as well. Did you try them? Oh my God, they're really good, really, absolutely Okay. So it's just a boiled egg.

Speaker 1 25:07

basically right, it's tiny, so little. It's a good multiple.

Speaker 2 25:13

Yeah, so a regular-sized egg. You kind of have to bite it in half.

Speaker 1 25:16

Totally.

Speaker 2 25:16

So these are just one-biters. Pop right just you know they're doing one biters little poppers yeah, I do love a pickled boiled egg.

Speaker 1 25:24

You need to try them then I probably will. But I I remember, yeah, I did see that. I noticed that on the shelf. I'm like, hmm, you guys do have a huge variety of like novelty, almost foods in there yeah, it's kind of the name of the game.

Speaker 3 25:38

We it's always what's new. When people come in that come in there once a week, the first question they want to ask is what's new? I feel obligated now to always have something new on the shelf. How I find them and what we bring in really does vary. We try to bring in things that will resonate with, obviously, our customers, but also with the area I did notice that you had the Hampstead oil and vinegar up on your shelf, Miss Georgia's products up there.

Speaker 1 26:01

What other local food items are you bringing in from other stores?

Speaker 2 26:06

Hampstead Oils is a good one right down the road. Two more that jump out at me that we have great relationships with, and they're great products Lava Dust Seasoning. Ryan is a great guy and his steak seasoning is the best.

Speaker 1 26:18

Lava Dust Seasoning. Oh yeah, when is he located?

Speaker 2 26:21

In Surf City.

Speaker 1 26:22

In Surf City.

Speaker 2 26:23

Yep.

Speaker 1 26:23

Ah, I learned something new today, okay.

Speaker 2 26:25

Also Andrew with Dirt Road Coffee. He's right here in Surf City and roasts his own beans and we sell them as well.

Speaker 3 26:31

Nice Kathy with Gluten-Free by the Seam. She does all of our gluten-free baked goods and breads. We we do a lot of gluten-free. I'm actually gluten-free myself.

Speaker 1 26:39

Are you really?

Speaker 3 26:40

Mm-hmm, but there was definitely that need in the area to have you know there's nowhere serving, you know, gluten-free items, specialty gluten-free items.

Speaker 1 26:46

Yeah.

Speaker 3 26:47

So I try to bring in if anything we have. I try to always get a gluten-free option if it's available. Yeah, so it's definitely a lot of that, a lot of vegan Cravings. They're little like vegan baked goods, okay.

Speaker 1 27:00

And honey as well. Right, you have a local honey vendor in there. We do Cape.

Speaker 3 27:04

Fear General Store Brad Carter.

Speaker 2 27:06

Brad Carter. So Brockmore Pretzels is another local product that we're carrying. They're out of Wilmington. They do a big variety of flavored pretzels. They can be found actually in a lot of places in our area. They're very popular very quickly they are great pretzels. Absolutely.

Speaker 3 27:23

I was not going to bring them into the store because they are everywhere around us, but they're that good that I could not say no. Oh, really, absolutely. Say the name again.

Speaker 1 27:30

Brockmar, brockmar.

Speaker 2 27:31

And they have one pretzel that they've done in collaboration with the Sea Turtle Hospital. So they give some money back for every bag, or a portion of every bag, that's sold.

Gift Items

Speaker 1 27:43

That's an interesting collaboration. So pretzels and the sea turtle hospital and people love turtles. And so it's huge here oh yeah, so is it shaped like a turtle? It is not.

Speaker 3 27:55

But the flavor is margarita or salt and lime or something Really. They're really tasty, all the pretzels are.

Speaker 1 28:02

Okay, do you have that one in the store? Because?

Speaker 3 28:05

I'll stop by and pick that up. We sure do, okay.

Speaker 1 28:07

Let's talk about all the gift items. So I fell in love with so many of the gift items when I was walking through the store. I could have walked out of there with a handful of stuff like, truly, why didn't you? Why didn't you? Because, if I Good one, brandon Right, I was thinking about it the other day. I interview all these wonderful people who are selling wonderful products. If I purchased all that I wanted and got tickets to everything, I would go broke. I would make a dime, I understand.

Speaker 3 28:33

I totally understand, but I picked up that tray.

Speaker 1 28:36

There's a tray in there in North Carolina. It's a wood tray. The little key rings but it was Well, thank you.

Speaker 3 28:41

I also appreciate when people appreciate what I do and what we do. I love to hear that people can walk into our store and take a lap, and every time they take a lap they find something new. It really does take a while to come into the store and see everything we have. I still sometimes find things I'm like where did that come from? So it's a lot of fun. So it's a lot of fun, it's an experience. Obviously, being a tourist location, people want to bring something home with them when they come to the beach. Yeah, right now we have these keepsake ornaments actually.

Speaker 3 29:07

So you put sand in them or shells or whatever it is you find it has Topsail Island on there so you can take it home with you, or a tray with Topsail Island. We have all sorts of things that are very Topsail Island-centric. It's an all-serve city. We have candles. We have custom candles as well.

Speaker 1 29:22

Homemade soap yes yes, it smells so good. It's great for people who are here vacationing and they want to take a little piece of North Carolina back with them. But it was also stuff that, as a local here, that I would want in my home as well.

Speaker 3 29:34

Absolutely. It makes me think of. We have some dish towels that are done from Printed Hughes.

Speaker 2 29:39

Yes.

Speaker 3 29:39

Laura with Printed Hughes oh.

Speaker 1 29:41

Printed Hughes, yes, and she does fantastic work.

Speaker 3 29:44

We sell a bunch of her kitchen towels and stuff like that. She is very local.

Speaker 1 29:48

So she offered classes. At one point I took a class. I love watercolor and so I thought I'll be able to go in there and make my watercolor look as good as her watercolor. And I was like it didn't look anything like it.

Speaker 3 29:59

They never do, and she's good.

Speaker 1 30:03

It was terrible and I realized that day that I have no artistic ability. However, when I went to choose my logo for Toppsville Insider, I fell in love with her watercolor so much that when I found that image, that watercolor image, I got that from her look and feel.

Speaker 2 30:18

I see it yeah.

Speaker 1 30:19

So who are some of the local makers that you partner with when you're curating these items for your store?

Speaker 2 30:26

We actually do business with a, I think a 12 year old young lady. I think she's 13 now 13. Really, she finds her short teeth on the island, yeah, and handcrafts earrings out of them.

Speaker 1 30:40

No way. And she's selling them in your store, yep. Well, she should be very proud.

Speaker 2 30:44

With the money she's making. She should, Because we sell a ton of those little things Do you really?

Speaker 3 30:49

Oh my gosh Good for her. Yeah, and she matches them perfectly.

Future Plans and Final Thoughts

Speaker 2 30:52

And of course our parents are good friends of ours and we've met them through the store, so it's a real organic thing of they shopped with us and we became friends. I said you know she has these earrings, would you like to see?

Speaker 3 31:02

if it works, they're right by the register. You can't say no to them. They're shark tooth earrings found right there on Topsail. She's an entrepreneur at 12, 13 years old.

Speaker 1 31:11

What's her name? Annabelle.

Speaker 3 31:13

Annabelle.

Speaker 1 31:14

Awesome. How do you follow those trends? How do you know what's hot right now and what's going out of style?

Speaker 3 31:20

You never really know it's out of style until you're not selling it. Oh, you just wait for the numbers to drop. We're there at the store, so much so when things aren't moving.

Speaker 3 31:27

I really get to see that, and so I try to change, like where they are maybe in the store, give them better shelf spacing, but I just I do a lot of scrolling as far as what other stores are doing what's popular on TV. Stores are doing what's popular on TV. I mean, they're all trends and so I'm not on Facebook or Instagram very much, but I definitely try to stay in the know.

Speaker 1 31:50

All right, guys, we're coming to the end here. I want to find out are there any future plans for Salt March Market? You mentioned that you are looking to open another store. That seems like it's not immediate. Are there any plans that you can tell us about right now?

Speaker 2 32:03

Nothing immediate but we do. Our full intention is to open a second store. It always has been. We do have to find a really special spot to open another salt marsh, but we're also looking at other business ventures as well. Absolutely, because we do need to do something else.

Speaker 1 32:18

What else you got? What else are you thinking about?

Speaker 2 32:20

All that remains to be seen.

Speaker 1 32:28

Okay, all right, so final thoughts then. What is the main thing that you want listeners to take away from the conversation today? About you, garrett and Brandy, or just about Salt and Marsh Market?

Speaker 2 32:34

I think for us and what we've done, it's really about the sum of the parts we could. The three of us could have the same ingredients and not bake the same cake. Mine's probably going to be better than y'all's.

Speaker 3 32:46

Do you bake much?

Contact Information

Speaker 2 32:47

But so you know, taking all the things that we have at the store and just throwing them all in, it's not an easy step-by-step. Connect the dots one, two, three. There's a lot more to it than that, a lot more gray area and tangibles, and that's what makes our store special is Brandy and I and our staff.

Speaker 3 33:06

We have great staff, the heart, soul of the store is us and our staff. It's the people.

Speaker 2 33:12

They're an extension to our staff for sure, starting from scratch. So many people I did not even know are now really good friends and that's what's really cool, I think, in Surf City because we are a small community still even with all the people still very small, and that's really neat to watch. Watch that grow from kids that were in strollers to now bouncing off the walls.

Speaker 3 33:33

And we'll continue to see these kids that we've seen in strollers, and one day they might be working there for us, who knows? Yeah, but we really do love being part of the community in Surf City. We were very welcomed and we love it.

Topsail Insider Closing

Speaker 1 33:45

Do you ever see yourself moving here? Absolutely.

Speaker 2 33:48

Absolutely, oh yeah, for sure, depending on where that next business is.

Speaker 3 33:51

That's a lot of it too, and interest rates.

Speaker 1 33:57

That's the truth. Yeah, it truly is. So let's give out that contact information. The phone number there is 910-803-0900. The address is 100A Charlie Medlin Drive in Surf City. The email address is info at saltmarshmarketcom. You can also find, and please follow, salt Marsh Market on the socials there on Instagram and Facebook and if you missed any of this information, you can always look in my show notes. I'll have the contact information there for you, along with clickable links for easy access.

Speaker 1 34:30

Thank you, listeners, for joining us today, and thank you again, garrett and Brandy, for being on Topsail Insider and telling us all about Salt Marsh Market. Thank you, thanks, hey, if you enjoyed today's episode of T Salt Marsh Market. While you're there, you can click the Send Me a Voicemail button and let me know exactly what you're thinking. Your message just might be on an episode of Topsail Insider. You can email me at Krista at TopsailInsidercom, or call or text me at 910-800-0111. Thank you for listening and supporting Topsail Insider and our local businesses and nonprofits. These are our neighbors and our friends, and together we build a mighty and a beautiful community I'm super proud to be a part of. I'll see you around Topsail.