Bakery, cafe and espresso bar coming to C-Street

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A Conversation With ... James Boosey

Longtime vendors at Farmers Market of the Ozarks are on the verge of opening their first brick-and-mortar shop by the end of the month.

Through Blue Heron Farm & Bakery, James and Jennie Boosey have grown products for sale at the south-side farmers market since 2015. Their wares have included microgreens, vegetables and baked goods. Now, the husband-and-wife team, who also operate a 50-acre farm near Marshfield, are set to debut a bakery, cafe and espresso bar, dubbed Blue Heron, at 206 E. Commercial St.

James Boosey said the couple is aiming for an Oct. 28 or 29 opening.

“We’re pretty close. The rest of the work that needs to get done is mainly cosmetic,” he said of preparations at the 4,000-square-foot shop formerly occupied by The Artisan’s Oven LLC.

Boosey said Artisan’s Oven owner Craig Crosby, who he’s known for years through Farmers Market of the Ozarks, wanted to exit his 15-year-old business, which had moved to Commercial Street in 2013, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

“Initially, he wanted to sell the business. In the end, we just agreed we would buy the equipment that was there, so bread ovens, mixers, things like that, which kind of bolstered the inventory of equipment we already had,” Boosey said, declining to disclose startup costs or renegotiated lease terms with landlord Dan Johnson.

The Booseys are among the four-employee staff at the shop, which will have a menu including breads, pastries, rice bowls and grab-and-go foods, such as salads, smoked salmon, hummus and seasonal vegetables. Several kinds of galettes, a French pastry similar to a tart or pie, also will be sold, along with what Boosey describes as European classics, including a sausage roll and gratin dauphinoise, which are organic potatoes seasoned and baked in onions, garlic, butter and cream and topped with breadcrumbs and cheese.

The shop also will sell some grocery items, such as breads, flour, eggs, milk, cheese, fruit and vegetables. Some of the products will come straight from the Blue Heron farm, Boosey said, adding other farmers market vendors, such as Urban Roots Farm LLC, are among the shop’s suppliers.

Additionally, Blue Heron plans to offer alcohol sales before the end of the year, he said. It will feature a small wine menu, including boxes of wine to go, along with a few local and international beers, as well as some cocktails.

“That’s very much Phase II for us at the moment,” he said.

The brick-and-mortar shop on Commercial Street isn’t the first one considered by Blue Heron, as its owners previously planned to open a similar concept last year at Farmers Park. Boosey said the decision to not move forward was purely a financial one, declining to disclose projected costs.

“We had a good working relationship with Farmers Park. There was no animosity there,” he said. “It was really just a matter of money. The cost of opening at Farmers Park ended up being just too high.”

Boosey said he and his wife weren’t actively pursuing a retail space this year before Crosby approached them about the C-Street opportunity. Staying involved with the south-side farmers market is still in the plans but not for the rest of this fall and winter as the shop launches, he said.

“We’re going to remain a vendor,” he said. “We’ll then see how we feel about it in the new year and the spring.”