Akron Life March 2022

LOCAL MARKETS

HEALTHY HARVEST

When Mike and Jean Krieger started their business in 1963, they didn’t even have a name for their farm stand, which was just an open-air market selling fresh produce. After a few years, however, Mike got the idea to call it Krieger’s Ranch Market, as he had seen one out in California during a trip. Now, Krieger’s Health Foods Market is a landmark in the commu nity where generations of customers have shopped for fresh, local produce and Ohio-made products for nearly 60 years. “We pride ourselves on having a wide variety of Ohio products,” says the owner’s daughter, Susan Krieger Kraus, who has worked at the market since she was 12 years old and is now the general man ager. “We promote products like Ohio Amish cheeses and baked goods, pies, maple syrup, Ohio honey, and when in season, a wide variety of Ohio produce that’s grown right here.” Owner and president Jean Krieger adds that throughout Krieger’s Market’s 50-plus years, customers’ shopping habits have changed a great deal, now shifting towards organics and dark, leafy greens. “When we first started, shoppers wanted to buy 50-pound bags of potatoes and 50-pound bags of onions. They wanted cabbage and head lettuce. You could hardly sell them enough,” Jean says. “We stocked some Romain and Bibb lettuce, but it was a tiny percent age. ... There’s been a lot of changes over the years.” Other changes include the whole front of the building. Mike built the original farm stand with his bare hands. Despite renova tions, that part is still there when you walk in, offering the feeling of a farmer’s market. “That’s the way my parents wanted it,” says Krieger Kraus. “And that’s what our customers love, too.” Krieger’s Market still has a lot of customers that have been coming in from the beginning, when there was a gravel drive and a chain link fence. “Customers still remember my kids running around on gravel floors,” Jean says. “We weren’t big for many years. It wasn’t until 1986 when we did the addition.” While Jean says she didn’t necessarily see the market growing to what it is today, she believes her husband had the vision for it. “I think that was always a dream that both of us had,” she says. “Whatever he wanted to do was my dream too.” Krieger Kraus notes that her parents have lived the American dream. “Both my father and my mother always appreciated the opportunities of this great country,” she says. “They really have lived the American dream.” BB Item to buy: Buckeye Basket $57.99, 615 Graham Road, Cuyahoga Falls, kriegersmarket.com

photos by Alan Chavez

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