View Edit

Argus Farm Stop, located at 325 W. Liberty St. and at 1200 Packard St, is a new model for bringing locally-farmed products to consumers.  The mission of this market is to connect consumers with their locally-grown products in a way that gives the farmers a significant margin and encourages them to grow more!  

Kathy Sample & Bill Brinkerhoff (Photo by Doug Coombe)

Farmers/growers/producers bring their products to the store and set the pricing.  They receive 80% of the retail proceeds. The store also sells locally roasted coffee from Roos Roast and has cafe and outside seating. Other vendors include,  Seeley Farm, Locavorious, Why Not Pie, B Bars, Harvest Kitchen, Bona Sera, Green Things Farm, Dyer Family Farm, Al Dente Pasta, Calder Dairy, Sweet Dirt and Ernst Farm.

The business was opened in August 2014 by husband-and-wife founders Bill Brinkerhoff and Kathy Sample. The name Argus Farm Stop represents the former Argus Camera Company in the Old West Side, where Brinkerhoff’s father once worked. The store's location is on the site of a former Gulf gas station, near the Liberty Lofts condominiums.

The company is operating as a  Low-Profit Limited Liability Company, an option which will help the company maintain funding as they pursue their social goals of extending the growing season,  giving new opportunities to local growers, and encouraging a community  conversation about the importance of a robust local food network.

From the website (http://www.argusfarmstop.com/):

"The Argus Farm Stop is inspired by successful stores in Local Roots (Wooster, OH), All Things Local (Amherst, MA), and The Wild Ramp (Huntington, WV)."

Vendor List

Vendors change with the seasons, and not every vendor on this list will have produce in the store at all times. "If you have products that are grown, raised, or produced in Michigan, we encourage you to apply."  The producer guidelines are available on the Argus web site.

Argus sent out this list of vendors in August 2018.

  • Abby's Acres (eggs)  
  • Almar Orchards (Organic Apples)   
  • Amaizin Pop (popcorn)   
  • Ann Arbor Seed Company (seeds and plant starts)   
  • B & B Farms (canola oil)   
  • Back 40 Bees (honey)   
  • Baseline Farm (pastured beef)   
  • Bayport Fish Company (Michigan fish!)   
  • Black Oak (pork)  
  • Black Pearl Gardens (microgreens)   
  • Blazing Blue Bison   
  • Boblin Honey   
  • Boone Orchards (Paw Paws)  
  • Brieland Shoultz Farm(eggs)   
  • Brines Farm (produce)   
  • Calder Dairy (milk and ice cream)   
  • Cambridge Cheese Co. (cheese)   
  • Cares Family Farm (maple syrup)   
  • Chestnut Growers, Inc. (chestnuts)   
  • Community Farm of Ann Arbor (produce)   
  • Detroit Mushroom Company (mushrooms)   
  • Duerksen Turkey   
  • Dyer Family Farm (garlic)  
  • Elderwood (garlic)   
  • Emma Acres (pastured meats)   
  • Ernst Farm (lamb, pork, beef, grains, corn meal)   
  • Fluffy Bottom Creamery (cheese and yogurt)   
  • Four Corners Creamery (cheese)   
  • Garden Works (produce, microgreens)   
  • Gnome Grown (flowers)   
  • Goetz Farm (produce)   
  • Golden Fleece Farm (meat)   
  • Graciem Organics (fruit)   
  • Grazing Fields (eggs)   
  • Green Things Farm (produce and meat)   
  • H & H Sugarbush (maple syrup)   
  • Hannewald Lamb   
  • Harnois Farm (eggs, chicken, turkey)   
  • Harris Blueberries   
  • Heritage Springs Farm (eggs and chicken)   
  • Hiday Farm (Mangalitsa pork and yogurt)   
  • Kapnick Orchards   
  • Kelly Farms Maple Syrup    
  • Kuntry Gardens (Produce)   
  • Lake Divide Farm (produce)    
  • Linnea’s Signature Honey   
  • The Land Loom (produce)   
  • Mana Farm (organic apples)   
  • Macon Creek Malt House (grains)   
  • Maple Leaf Farm (cheese)   
  • Michigan Cranberry Co   
  • Michigan Garlic Farm   
  • Mind Your Beeswax (honey)   
  • Monroe Family Organics (produce)   
  • Moo-Ville Creamery (milk, cheese)   
  • MSU Student Organic Farm (produce)   
  • Nature & Nurture (produce, seeds)   
  • Nightshade Army Industries (produce)   
  • Noka Homestead (produce)   
  • Norman Holtz (produce, flowers)   
  • Para Para Creamery (cheese)   
  • Plymouth Orchards (apples)   
  • Prochaska Farm (produce, starts   
  • Radicle Roots(produce)   
  • Rocky Oak Farms (meat)   
  • Salomon Gardens (eggs, chicken)   
  • Sand Hill Honey    
  • Schwartz Family Farm (produce, eggs)   
  • Seeley Farm (produce)   
  • Shurmur Farms (produce, eggs)   
  • Skinny Farm (produce)   
  • Songbird Farm (produce)   
  • Steinhauser (garlic)   
  • Sunny Meadows Dairy (cheese)   
  • Sunseed Farm (produce) 
  • Tantre Farm (produce)   
  • The Farm on Jennings (produce)   
  • UM Campus Farm(produce)   
  • Valentine Gardens (produce, flowers)   
  • Villa Villelyon (produce, eggs)   
  • Wasem Fruit Farm  
  • We The People Growers Association (produce)  
  • Webbed Foot Pines (meat and eggs)   
  • Whitney Farmstead    
  • Zatkovich Pastures (eggs, meat)    
  • Zilke Vegetable Farm (produce)

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/argusfarmstop

Twitter: @ArgusFarmStop

Timeline

November 2014: Wins the Retail Award from MLive as part of the publication's 2014 Deals of the Year.

August 2014: Argus Farm Stop opens.

In the News

Argus Farm Stop connects farmers, Ann Arbor consumers – Detroit News, April 26, 2015

Deals of the Year 2014 Retail award: Argus Farm Stop – MLive, Nov. 7, 2014

Business community gathers to honor winners at The Ann Arbor News 2014 Deals of the Year – MLive, Nov. 7, 2014

Argus Farm Stop: One-stop shopping for local food – Concentrate, Oct. 14, 2014

Argus Farm Stop opens on west side of downtown Ann Arbor – MLive, Aug. 16, 2014

Stopped.Watched: Second & Liberty – The Ann Arbor Chronicle, July 11, 2014

Construction underway at Ann Arbor's new year-round farm market – MLive, June 26, 2014

Argus Farm Stop aims to help growers and locavores with year-round market – Concentrate, May 14, 2014

Edit tags