Akron Life March 2022

LOCAL MARKETS

SPICING IT UP

A conversation on Christmas Day 2004 led to a new venture in specialty foods for Karen Marks. “As the story goes, there was probably a little too much eggnog involved,” the Heather’s Heat & Flavor owner laughs. “[My son] said he was going to have trouble leveling inventory with just one store. I said, No problem, I’ll open another store . But it is a little like having a baby. It takes about nine months from the time you find the spot and then open for business.” The first store was opened in Beachwood by Marks’ son and daughter in-law (Heather) about a year before the second location opened in Hudson. Marks initially offered the same products as her son’s store. But the front window didn’t “pop” enough for the retail traffic in Hudson, especially during lunch hour when people were out browsing the storefronts. “I realized that the front window was just dull,” she says. “I started bringing in colorful pottery. Eventually, colorful teapots were added along with the [loose-leaf ] tea.” But the store has evolved even more since the early days. Heather’s has expanded its tea selection from the basics to varieties like Liquid Jade, Lemon Myrtle, Tippy South Cloud and Second Flush Darjeeling — most of it organic. “We probably have four times as much tea in here today,” she says. “They’re good organic loose-leaf teas — much better than the bags. The stuff that’s at the bottom of the teabag is very much like the stuff that we throw out.” Other staples include a wide assortment of hot sauces and spices. Heather’s doesn’t carry just one of anything — the shop has multiple kinds of peppercorns and at least four types of paprika! It also stocks a complete section of hot sauces from mild to inferno for chili-head patrons, some of its most loyal shoppers. Then there is the selection of spice blends, which Marks points to and says is the best part of the store. The dry rub, called Heather’s Butt Rub, is the most popular, and Marks notes it can go on just about any thing, including popcorn and baked potatoes. “We’ve won two awards for it,” she says. “This rub was designed for a pork roast, pulled pork or a rack of ribs. There’s enough in this bag for a rack of ribs or a 7-pound shoulder roast. But people put it on anything.” Today, Heather’s stocks a treasure trove of spices, teas and other spe cialty products that the grocery stores just don’t have. “You can buy virtually any kind of spice here and more,” Marks says. “Grocery stores only carry the basics, and people want more than that.” BB 94 First St., Hudson, facebook.com/Heathers-Heat-and-Flavor

photos by Alan Chavez

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