Village Barn, Sliver Barn and Joe.

The decisions that led up to the creation of Village Barn I do not know of, as I remain a magnetic force of local business talk on the street.

This is not breaking news, but there is a trend, a shift, a movement to organically grown produce here in Queens for the better part of seven years..

Eating cleaner foods is healthier, so they say thru print and digital media and the usual social media platforms. For years, I have taken a genuine interest in filtering through and reading closely what is being said. Neither has provided me a firmness of opinion on the main points, I mut now return to the racks of my university library.

With a cleaner foods mind set can come the aesthetic improvements both inside and out of Queens New Yorks grocery stores, to coincide with ‘out with the old and in with the new’ identity. There are now three grocery stores in a five square mile radius that have outfitted their storefronts and interiors with modern equipment and more attractive displays and ways of displaying.

Inasmuch as the new looks adds some value from a customer experience point of view, the prior business (Sliver Barn Farms) had a charm on to itself. Shopping there was a look back to yester years day of food shopping, an identity of quality goods at a fair value, from a long and trusted local merchant. People you knew and they knew you too.

It’s sad to report that I do not see much dollar value just yet in the everyday needs to nourish a household, but I do see this above mentioned trend, the movement, the shift towards designer food related items ramping up here. Flipping the can, a jar or a box over reveals fugures that caught me off guard, the prices can really pinch you in the pocket if your not paying attention upon receiving your total due at the registers.

Two Broccoli Rabe bundles cost me three times the amount from grocery stores closer to me and this happens to be the prime time of the season for this sturdy green. So, I choose not to make the purchase and passed it down the line, away from the bar code reader.

It was at that point that it was said that the “California wild fires” shoulder the burden of the blame in rising costs — as it was not only the broccoli price that spiked.

So, I did look it up & the LA TIMES did well to outline the specific crops affected. However, the ildfires damage passed down a three percent increase, so although a plausible rebuttal, fell short of the financial mark.

I’m concerned about this trend, movement, shift as local retirees on a fixed income may now be considering additional shopping options. I had high hopes that Village Barn would enhance Silver Barns strengths while renovating the space to make it attractive to customers and price sensitive.

Not being a heavily price conscience shopper, as you do get what you pay for, most all the items seem to be very expensive at a time where Whole Foods, Trader Joes are cutting prices on organic products.

I suspect a long road ahead unless Village Barn re-positions their products through diversification and reconsider their pricing structure a bit.