• Alice Dodge
• Moses Kokernot stocking shelves at Meadow Mart

Jean Myung Hamilton and James Findlay-Shirras bought Meadow Mart, a long-standing neighborhood grocery and convenience store at 284 Elm Street in Montpelier, last fall. They reopened it at the beginning of July with a mix of convenience staples and an expanded selection of locally grown foods and global offerings, including Korean snacks, pantry staples and prepared foods.

Myung Hamilton, 42, and Findlay-Shirras, 47, are Montpelier residents who have full-time jobs in food systems advocacy and landscape architecture, respectively. The couple bought the 1,200-square-foot business from the Demers family for a purchase price they declined to specify.

They share a love of food, Myung Hamilton said, and wanted to do something creative together. "We've been talking about doing a food thing for a while," she said. "We wanted to bring more foods we like to eat here."

Meadow Mart will continue to stock candy bars, ice cream novelties, potato chips and beer alongside local meats, cheeses and produce, Myung Hamilton said. She is also excited to offer prepared foods reflecting her Korean heritage, such as kimchi, roasted honey-sesame tofu and japchae noodles with vegetables. They're made by her mother, Myung Hee Nam, and her aunt Young-La Nam, who operates Flavors of Asia, a Rutland farmers market vendor.

"We want to create a place that the whole community can find joy in," Myung Hamilton said.