I just discovered the Mennonite store

[spinbaby]

I was looking for baking supplies and a friend suggested a try a Mennonite store about 20 miles from my home. What a lovely store. They had no brand names at all unless you count some Amish pickles and jellies. They had all their dry goods neatly bagged and labeled and sold at a lower price than you'd find at the grocery store. Everything from pretzels to beans to cake mix was sold in plain plastic bags. Plus, they had a lot of the more obscure baking ingredients like clear gel, sanding sugar, potato starch, and pastry flour. Less packaging, no advertising--what a great way to shop. It really drove home how unnecessary and oversold our grocery stores are. If you have a Mennonite store in your area and are looking for a simpler way to shop, give it a try.

Geez, I sound like a commercial--but I really was taken with the place.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. So -- when do I get my piece of cake?

[scarlet_owl]

2. Wow! Where are you?

The closest Mennonite community to me is about 30 miles away in Arcola. Most of the shops there are pretty touristy, but your shop sounds cool!

[spinbaby]

5. Western PA

And this place caters to the Mennonites and is totally not touristy. They don't advertise at all and are housed in a very nondescript building. I never would have known they were there if the place hadn't been pointed out to me by a friend who lives near it.

[scarlet_owl]

16. Must be nice.

The Amish community near me has been turned into some sort of tourist attraction for middle aged and old ladies who just think all their crafts are so cute. In Arcola, there is an Amish "Country Buffet", a few craft malls, and probably the sickest thing around-Rockome Gardens. It is kind of like an Amish theme park, without the rides and games. I guess it's a good way for them to earn a living, but I can't help think it's a form of "selling out". Why would you want people to come and gawk at you?

[displacedtexan]

3. where is this fab store?

anywhere near DC?

[petersjo]

4. We have a large Amish and Mennonite community close by

In the Kalona, IA, area. I always stock up on stuff when I go that way, especially big bags of almonds that I eat for snacks. Much better quality (and considerably cheaper)than the almonds I get at the chain grocery. We also do business with an Amish harness and tack repair man and his son, who is a carriage maker. Always enjoy visiting with them and they do such high quality work for half the cost of any traditional retail delears.

[Padraig18]

7. I live in the heart of IL's Amish/Mennonite country

We have Amish stores, a bakery, a cheese factory, even a used buggy dealer (no joke)! :P

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. Not quite the same, but the Moravian stores in Bethlehem, PA are great.

I have two Moravian stars for Christmas. One big one goes in the front window, and a much smaller one on top of the tree.

[chookie]

8. Where where where?????

Hi Spinbaby! D'yinz remember me from the DU Burgh get-together some weeks ago (the dumb blonde)?

The store you are describing sounds like something I would greatly enjoy, and as I live near you, I should be able to find it.

COuld you give the name and location of this, so Marigold and I can have a field trip to there next week?

I hope you are well. I had such a good time at the get together.

[spinbaby]

15. Check your in box

:-)

[Lars39]

9. Yes!!!

I've been to the Cane Creek Market in Loboville, TN a few times. I could have kicked myself for not having more cash with me, 'cause they had wonderful items and prices. They had some cookware to drool over, too.

[SoCalDem]

10. HP cookbooks publishes a "Make-A-Mix Cookbook"..buy it

You will never buy bread mix, pancake mix, cake mix again..

When my kids were little I always had containers of my own mixes..:)

[Lars39]

14. I've got that ! We're addicted to the beef gravy mix.

It inspired me to convert my chocolate gravy recipe to a mix. :)

[msanthrope]

11. The Philadelphia Reading Terminal Market....

just a few blocks from City Hall boasts a fine selection of Amish/Mennonite merchants and products. I highly reccomend visiting not just for tourism purposes, but for regular shopping.

The produce is spectacular, with many heirloom varieties that you would never ever see in a supermarket. The butchers and bakers sell superior products. As an added bonus, many stalls sell crafts--everything from quilts to handmade wooden toys, and lots and lots of canned, pickled, and preserved foodstuffs.

[msanger]

13. I used to buy there 20 years ago.

The best sausage in the world. Only now I'm a veggie.

[newyawker99]

21. Hi pacoyogi!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Cocoa]

12. I get my Mennonites online

Ebay.

[Rocinante]

17. We have a big Amish community

here in southern middle Tn. But they mostly sell veggies and fruit, and some of them have sawmills with pretty good prices on the lumber.

[grasswire]

18. here in the PNW...

....I found a thrift store being run by a Mennonite family. It was a great find for me, because many collectible items were mixed in with other household goods and could be obtained at a reasonable price for my business as a dealer. To them, an unusual old postcard was just a postcard and a vintage shabby chic tablecloth just a tablecloth.

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. The Mennonites had a place down in So. Florida

Down around Redland, in southern Dade county. They would come down for the winter and grow strawberries. They made fabulous strawberry shakes from them. They also had a bakery on the site that was out of this world.

[wdwilder]

20. (sarcasm)

If you value your soul you will make every effort to avoid those anarchic libertarian Amish. (/sarcasm) (irony?)