Homegrown Farmstand connects country to city

Chris Rugowski

Contributor

May 4, 2026

DE PERE – Homegrown Farmstand has opened its doors in De Pere, bringing a year-round farmers market to 377 Main Ave., Suite B.

Nicole Evers – who owns the Homegrown Farmstand with her husband, Nick – said the shop features locally produced food and goods, embracing a farm-to-table approach for those looking to support small businesses and prioritize healthy living.

From idea to reality

Evers said she and Nick were both raised on farms and have carried that lifestyle into adulthood.

Today, she said they selectively breed and raise miniature Highland cattle and donkeys at their De Pere farm, NE Acres Farm.

As farmers looking for new ways to support their community and preserve their way of life, Evers said they envisioned opening a farm-to-table store that would amplify the voices of small family farms and expand their reach.

“We recognized how there are all these hard-working, small family farms that are putting up these fantastic roadside farm stands, but they’re not getting the attention or exposure they deserve,” she said. “Mostly because they are too far off the beaten path or people not from the areas can’t, don’t or won’t drive out there. Convenience is everything, and we understand that as well.”

With that in mind, Evers said they launched the store to bridge the gap between local farms and city shoppers, bringing the farm stand experience into a year-round setting.

She said they also recognized growing demand from consumers who want to know where their food comes from and support local, healthy options beyond the traditional farmers market season.

Furthermore, Evers said they understand the challenges customers face when buying local meat, as many beef farms sell in bulk – whole, half or quarter animals – a significant commitment for many urban shoppers.

“We wanted to provide a place where people could get individual cuts, try it and then if they love it, they can go directly to the farm and then get their quarter, half or full cow,” she said.

Evers said customers who can’t store or afford large bulk purchases are able to access smaller cuts through the store, while also having the chance to try a variety of locally produced meats from other area family farms.

By offering cuts and products from multiple farms within a 100-mile radius, Evers said customers are able to support more than one producer at a time – meaning a single purchase can benefit several local farms and farmers. 

Guided by passion for agriculture

Also operating Ever After Design in Wrightstown, Evers said they’ve spent more than 12 years as architectural designers creating plans for homes, commercial spaces, agricultural buildings and more, and are no strangers to managing multiple businesses and income streams. 

At the same time, she said their shared love of agriculture led them to establish their own farm – where today they breed and raise miniature Highland cattle and miniature donkeys, shipping animals to customers across the country.

However, with three young children at home, Evers said the demands of working about 60 hours a week off the farm and another 15 hours on the farm eventually began to take a toll, making work-life balance an important priority for the family.

After experiencing burnout last year, Evers said they made the decision – following extensive discussion – to step back from architectural design work and refocus on their family and farming goals.

Though they still have a passion for architecture, she said they chose to devote more time to building their farm-based vision.

Evers said the idea for the store had been developing for quite some time, and when they began making changes, they felt things naturally started falling into place.

Though they continue to take on select architectural projects, and Nick works on special projects for Seven Oaks HD, Evers said their work-life balance has improved significantly since making the shift.

Beyond the work they do on their own farm, Evers said she also serves on the Brown County Dairy Promotions Board, where she saw a strong need to expand awareness of their mission throughout the city.

“With the Dairy Promotions, we do a lot of ag in the classroom – they teach kids about agriculture, they bring them to multiple family farms and educate them on what really happens on the farm and where their food comes from,” she said. 

Evers said the need for stronger connections between food sources and the community ultimately helped shape the idea for the store – providing small family farms with a year-round space to sell their products beyond the traditional farmers market setting.

“Markets are great, but farmers get limited hours of face time, and it is a lot of work and not always the best time for farmers who are in their busy seasons,” she said. “This store is a way to supplement that.”

Furthermore, Evers said their goal in creating a year-round “farmers’ market” is to provide more opportunities for local farms and give a stronger voice to producers in outlying areas.

Finding the perfect location

Finding a location came together quickly, Evers said, noting it was one of those moments where everything seemed to fall into place.

After an extended search, she said they came across the space that would become Homegrown Farmstand while visiting her insurance agency to sign paperwork.

Through a series of chance circumstances, Evers said the insurance agent actually needed a smaller space and relocated, creating an opening for Homegrown Farmstand to move in.

“I love the character [the building] brings,” she said. “I’m a huge fan of older buildings, repurposing them and preserving the character and personality. This space absolutely has it for me, and I like that it’s a corner location.”

When searching for a location, Evers said they knew two things were essential: easy parking access and strong street-facing window frontage – both of which the Main Avenue space offers.

Inside the space, Evers said she especially likes the tall ceilings and abundant natural light, which align with the “natural” feel they aim to reflect both in aesthetics and in the products they sell.

Homegrown Farmstand has only been open since the beginning of April, but Evers said she already has plans for community engagement, including a petting zoo event – set for May 9 – to help raise awareness of the new business and offer a bit of fun featuring the miniature cows and donkeys they raise.

Local food connection 

Evers said serving the local community goes beyond simply offering needed products – it also involves education.

At Homegrown Farmstand, she said the priority is full transparency, which in turn helps build trust with the community.

“Family farms are just families like yours and mine – [meaning] they are trying to eat healthy and live long, happy lives,” she said. “Our day job is producing the food we eat, so we don’t take that lightly. We work hard to be good patrons of the environment that feeds our animals, which in turn feeds us – it is all connected. We cannot expect to have healthy food if we don’t have healthy animals from a healthy environment.”

All of the farms Homegrown Farmstand sources from, Evers said, are producers they have built long-standing relationships with or come to know closely – noting that this familiarity extends to how the animals are raised and cared for.

And that process, she said, goes beyond sourcing.

Evers said customers can request specific cuts, which she or Nick then coordinates directly with the butcher and picks up themselves.

Because the process is fully traceable from farm to customer, she said it allows Homegrown Farmstand to maintain a strong level of transparency and accountability.

“Looking at the big box stores, you don’t know what’s in the animals used for the meat,” she said. “The butchering companies are dealing with numerous animals at a single time. You also don’t know what they’re putting in there so that it preserves shelf life.”

Evers said for her, it’s about telling the story behind the food and helping people understand exactly where it comes from, with an emphasis on health and transparency.

She said Homegrown aims to complement stores like Fresh Thyme and Waseda Farms, with the key difference being its focus on products sourced exclusively from multiple small family farms.

The goal, she said, is to help support smaller producers that continue to decline as they struggle to compete with larger operations. 

Because education is central to their mission, Evers said the store features a board near the entrance highlighting all of their producers and providing background information about them. 

This, she said, is part of a broader effort to maintain transparency and help bring business back to local farms.

“We love what we do and the way of life,” she said. “We’re trying to make it full circle for everybody.”

Since another goal of the store is to ease customers into trying new products, Evers said they plan to feature weekly vendor spotlights and a newsletter highlighting each farm, sharing producers’ stories, as well as upcoming events and favorite recipes. 

“I want people to know the story of the farms and to know you’re supporting another family,” she said. “This is what they’re living for.”

What can customers expect to find?

Everything in the store, Evers said, is made or produced in Wisconsin, reflecting the shop’s goal of promoting Wisconsin brands.

She said the shelves will always be stocked with dairy essentials, including milk, eggs (both chicken and duck) and a selection of cheeses.

For meats, Evers said the store offers chicken, lamb, venison, pork, beef and alpaca – the latter being a standout option.

Alpaca meat, she said, is “sweeter than beef” and pairs well in spaghetti sauce and meatloaf recipes.

Beyond meat, Evers said the store also offers animal byproducts, such as alpaca fiber and lamb wool.

At some point, she said they want to carry bison meat and fish as well.

Evers said non-meat offerings include seasonal produce and flowers as they become available, as well as barbecue sauces and seasonings.

In the future, she said they plan to offer bundled packages that include meat, potatoes, seasonings and sauces in one purchase – highlighting and enhancing local flavor profiles.

In the store’s non-food section, Evers said customers will find coffee from Ruby Coffee in Stevens Point and Heritage in Green Bay, along with locally made pottery, natural candles crafted from beeswax and soy and a line of jewelry created by one of the farm partners.

“The jewelry is farm tested from Kenneke Family Farm,” she said. “She also produces the pork in our coolers. She wears [the jewelry] all over the farm, so you don’t have to worry about it getting tarnished or rusted. It’s farm tested, city approved.”

Evers said Homegrown Farmstand also carries beef tallow and soaps, pork lard, soy wax candles, beeswax candles and melts, along with other unique products.

As beef tallow becomes more popular, she said misconceptions about it are also increasing. 

Like alpaca meat, Evers said people may be hesitant to try it if they are unfamiliar.

Instead of using creams filled with chemicals or products that aren’t natural, she said beef or pork tallow can be a more traditional alternative, adding that it contains fats the body needs.

Community response

At its core, Evers said the store offers as close to a “farm-to-table” experience as possible without being on the farm.

From the producer side, she said support for the venture has been strong, with some farmers even creating social media videos to help draw in customers – as many are grateful to have another outlet for their products.

Evers said the community response to the store has been overwhelmingly positive.

Though she acknowledges that some products may appear more expensive, Evers said the pricing reflects a deliberate effort to strike a balance, while supporting local producers.

“We want people to understand we’re not a big box store, we’re not buying our meat in bulk, everything comes from small individual producers, so therefore we can’t sell it at the prices you’re going to get at big box stores,” she said. “At the same time, you get what you pay for, so you’re paying for quality when you buy from us.”

Evers said though healthier food comes at a higher cost, it hasn’t deterred customers, with many thanking her for opening a store the area needed.

“We’ve had a lot of really great feedback, and people saying they’re going to come back,” she said. “They stopped in looking to see what we had, so they could meal-plan for the next week.”

Recognizing that meat sales may take time to build, Evers said they are planning a cookout to give customers a chance to sample the products.

“Hopefully, we can become a household name, because it is easy to fade into the woodwork,” she said. “We will be working diligently to tell our story and the producers’ story and spread the message.”

Growth and the future

Though an experienced business owner, Evers said she still felt the nerves that come with opening a new venture, but believes the store fills a need in the community – something reflected in the positive response so far.

She said they’ve received strong support from family, especially her sister, Chelsey, and brother-in-law, Matt, who have been involved from the start, helping set up, stock and run the store.

Though it has only been open a short time, Evers said she already sees potential to grow into a larger space, driven by interest from additional producers looking to carry their products at Homegrown.

“It’s not just farmers we’re working with, it’s small, artisan producers who make their own tallows, candles or soaps from animal byproducts working out of their homes who can’t get the avenue or exposure they need to sell their products,” she said. “At some point in the future, I would love to find a space that [is] about 1,000 square feet. I don’t want to get too big; I want to retain that classy homey feel.”

By focusing on their current producers and adding a few more as they grow their customer base, Evers said they can better understand what customers want and expand the business thoughtfully.

The vision for the future, she said, includes additional cooler and freezer space, expanded produce, flowers and dry goods sections – all while maintaining a boutique-style atmosphere.

Evers said she also hopes to create more space for vendors offering candles, jewelry, tallow, wool and pottery.

“There are so many more quality producers out there that we would be able to offer this full-time, year-round farmers market to,” she said.

Evers said growth also includes expanding their presence in the community, from participating in the De Pere Memorial Day Parade to hosting events like a Mother’s Day weekend petting zoo.

She said they also plan to bring in food and coffee trucks and invite farmers and vendors to showcase their products.

One of Homegrown Farmstand’s larger upcoming initiatives, Evers said, is launching farm trolley tours this summer to highlight local producers.

The store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

Find Homegrown Farmstand on social media for more details.