Pipkin’s Market

photos by Kyle Wolff

Blue Ash, Ohio—Ben Pipkin remembers it being all onions and potatoes and carrots when he and his brother Steve started Pipkin’s Market in Blue Ash in 1983. Back then, there was a terminal market downtown by the river where produce was trucked in. They’d go down, pick out what they thought people would buy, and bring it back to the store. He can remember when Gala apples were new and they wondered if customers would go for them. Early on, they bought a case of okra—and ended up eating most of it themselves.

But in the summer, they had local corn, one crop that people were used to getting locally and seasonally. “Our thing was to go directly to the farm every day so it was really fresh,” Pipkin says. Over the years, Pipkin’s Market has become a center for local food, cultivating relationships with nearby growers and producers, while still offering produce from farther away. They’ve stocked local apples and heirloom tomatoes, many varieties of exotic citrus, local spinach in the winter, locally baked bread all year.

“What I have valued about owning the market is learning from the customers. They’ve taught us a lot,” Pipkin says. “Also, being part of the community and having a place where people can make a good livelihood.”

So when he and Steve decided to retire this fall, they wanted the store to transition to new owners with the same business values and goals. They found a couple of younger people ready to step up.

Ben Jones has worked at the store since 2010, most recently as a manager. He asked his friend Laura Grover, who had been contemplating a career change, to come on as a partner. Both had been itching for business ownership. “People have been worried we’re going to change things,” Grover says. “We reassure them we’re not planning to do anything different. We want to build off Ben and Steve’s legacy, and bring in the next round of loyal customers.”

“I just love food,” Jones says. “One of the best things about being here is the chance to try great stuff. We’re always getting something new, passing it around to try it.”

He’s already added more local meat from TS Farms and Grassroots Farm and Foods, and is planning to source local strawberries this spring. And fear not: Grover and Jones plan to keep the popular garden plant business.

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Pipkin’s Market
5035 Cooper Rd., Blue Ash
513.791.3175 / PipkinsMarket.com