Market reaches locals

Owners of the Corner Market aim to bless their customers with high-quality products

Home. The place we long for, where we feel comfort and acceptance. The place where the scent of good food floods through the nostrils and overpowers the senses. The place where kindness is abundant and joy overflows.

FRESh — Auburnlea Farms located in Gladys, Virginia, opened a farmer’s market-like store at Cornerstone, offering a variety of locally grown produce, spices and other products. Photo credit: RJ Goodwin

FRESH — Auburnlea Farms located in Gladys, Virginia, opened a farmer’s market-like store at Cornerstone, offering a variety of locally grown produce, spices and other products. Photo credit: RJ Goodwin

While we may not have access to a home, Auburnlea Farm’s Corner Market embodies a taste of home away from home and is located at Cornerstone, a community for families and students, that is only a few miles from campus. Auburnlea Farm is located in Gladys, Virginia.

Stepping inside the barn-structured building opens one’s eyes to an array of fresh, grass-fed meats, dried goods, locally grown fruits and vegetables, dairy products and freshly baked bread, all of which can be savored in Corner Market’s eclectic cafe.

According to the cornermarketva.com, the only elements lacking in the Corner Market are sprays, chemicals, genetically modified organisms and artificial ingredients.

The Corner Market cafe is open Monday through Saturday. Monday through Friday, the cafe is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Saturdays, the Corner Market serves brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

According to the cornermarketva.com, the cafe also offers a to-go menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

old-fashioned — An antique soda shoppe sits in the corner of the market. Photo credit: RJ Goodwin

old-fashioned — An antique soda shoppe sits in the corner of the market. Photo credit: RJ Goodwin

In addition to the cafe, which caters to specialty vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and gluten-free options according to cornermarketva.com, the Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe sits in the corner of the barn-like building adjacent to the cafe.

The soda shoppe serves drinks such as homemade sodas, locally roasted coffee, and ice cream floats made with 100 percent grass-fed ice cream.

The Corner Market also represents Auburnlea Farm’s organically raised, grass-fed beef, pork, lamb, goat, poultry and fish featured in the butchery section, according to cornermarketva.com.

Rick Bennett and wife, Becky, provide the quality and care for the Corner Market. They are the parents of six children and have been avid farmers for years. The Bennetts moved to Campbell County, Virginia in 2009 and have experienced provision and an unexpected platform to
serve others.

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The Bennetts welcome customers as if they were family. Rick Bennett’s calloused and worn hands tell a tale of hard work and selfless care for those he loves.

The success of the Bennetts labor humbles them in greater ways than they could have ever imagined. Rick and Becky Bennett expressed their desperate need for God to provide strength and guidance for them as they run their farm and the Corner Market.

“Honestly, we could write a book about all that God has done,” Becky Bennett said. “This store has very little to do with us as a family and it has a lot to do with how the Lord moves, how he provides and how he leads. When we took our hands off and surrendered it, that’s when it took off.”

While the Bennetts are familiar with trial and aware of imperfections, they are learning to rest in the truth of God’s
unchanging word. According to the Bennetts, their faith in him is the only reason they do what they do.

“It is really all about what the Lord is doing, and he is just allowing us to be stewards here,” Becky Bennett said. “We want to be tools in God’s hands.”

For more information about the Corner Market, visit cornermarketva.com.

Taylor is a feature reporter.

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