Lobo Market

There's been quite a lull since our last posts, but we've had plenty going on.  We are happy to introduce the newest addition to our family (and the majority of the reason for the lull): Baby Lois.  She is happy, healthy, and, with the help of her big brother, is keeping us plenty busy.

Nonetheless, we're moving on forward.  We have looked at a number of amazing spaces around East End and Columbia Tusculum, and are confident we'll have our perfect location for Lobo soon.

We've put together a simple survey to start getting input from the neighbors and community that Lobo Market will serve.  For now, we are particularly looking for input from folks that live or are frequently in the areas right around Columbia Tusculum, East End & Linwood.  If that's you, we would love to hear your thoughts: www.surveymonkey.com/s/lobosurvey.

Last Tuesday (May 13), we finished up the final week of our CO.STARTERS class at ArtWorks Cincinnati.  The final week was a pitch week where each of the folks going through the class presented a 2-5 minute pitch for their business.  We had some great classmates, all in very different stages of our extremely varied businesses.  It was very cool to see where others started at the beginning of the class and where they wound up.

For us, we got out of it exactly what we expected/hoped, which was great.  The content of the class covered some things we knew, greater detail of things we were vaguely familiar with, and introduced us to some things we didn't know at all.  Most important for us, though, was (1) making some connections with other entrepreneurs and (2) having the dedicated time to sit together and really talk through the inner details of our own business.

We started selling Lobo's Cherry Almond Granola at Carl's Deli in Hyde Park.  The granola uses Maple Grove Farm's maple syrup which is produced right here in Ohio and you can get at the Hyde Park Farmer's Market.  We're trying to track down other local ingredients to use, as well.

A couple of Lobo Market's greatest champions, Charla and Scott Weiss, gave us a great opportunity to cater appetizers for a party they hosted for their fellow East End neighbors.  The menu was full of eclectic finger foods, including some puff pastry swirls, arepa bites and steak bruschetta.

Owen was in New York City for work in April and spent some time gathering inspiration from various markets, delis, restaurants, and everything else.  That also included eating everything in sight.

We have talked about the atmosphere of Lobo Market being very comfortable and down to earth like a farmhouse kitchen. Seeing what other folks are doing - like the way foods are displayed, furniture and decor - gave us some great ideas for how we make that atmosphere come to life in Lobo.

Contrary to the New-Yorkers-are-all-grumpy sentiment, several folks at a couple of the spots were happy to talk about their businesses, sharing some helpful ideas and input.

We've started perfecting a few recipes of things that we definitely want to sell in the market.  #1 seller so far is the Lobo Cherry Almond Granola.  Lauren's been perfecting the recipe, tweaking ingredients to get just the right chunkiness.

We applied and were selected for ArtWorks Cincinnati's March - May CO.STARTERS, "a nine-week business development program that helps...turn business ideas into action."

We've been doing some work for the past couple months putting together details for the Lobo Market business plan.  This program will be a great next step to keeping us headed in the right direction.

We took a few months off of our Lobo planning.  On October 3, 2013, my mom, Janet, passed away at the age of 62 after a long stint of cancer and Hepatitis C.  Enjoying her in her last months, taking care of her as she always has for us, and being with her took precedence over everything else.

As we settle back into life, Lauren and I are getting back to our plans for Lobo Market.  First steps:

Figure out some financials (inventory, R & E, etc.)

Get some lessons-learned advice from our community

Look into building/location options

Get some business cards together for when we talk with folks

That should keep us busy for a bit.

The neighborhoods of Columbia Tusculum and East End Cincinnati are developing areas, both currently lacking in accessibility to quality whole foods.  The closest grocery stores are large chain stores (Kroger & Remke Bigg’s) and are several miles away.  To boot, these areas have limited options for prepared foods.

With Lobo Market, we plan to create a community-centric market that provides these neighborhoods with homemade goods, fresh and local ingredients, and essential pantry items.  The location will be quickly and easily accessible to both the Columbia Tusculum and East End communities, and will also be available along a major commuting route from downtown to the east side of Cincinnati.