Wis. (WMTV) – A new farm market on Madison’s west side is giving small Wisconsin farmers another place to sell their products while giving customers another way to shop local
Grandad’s Farm Stop opened just over a week ago, but owner and operator Patrick Randolph said the idea started about six years earlier while he was helping manage a small CSA farm in Dunn, Wisconsin.
“We were growing so well but didn’t have anywhere to sell it,” Randolph said. The farm’s owners were able to donate what they could not sell, but Randolph began wondering what would happen if he had a farm of his own and could not afford to do the same.
That led to the idea behind Grandad’s: a place where farmers could drop off what they grow and have someone else sell it for them.
“It’s hard for farmers to find consistent markets. Farmers markets are long days and they’re seasonal. And then places like Willie Street Co-op or any co-op, they do incredible work, but they have certain requirements, size, regularity, that small farmers, it’s hard for them to meet,” Randolph said.
Grandad’s aims to fill the space in between.
Farmers set their own prices and sell their products on consignment. Randolph said that at an average grocery store, about 15 cents of every dollar spent goes back to the farmer. At Grandad’s, he said that figure is about 70 cents.
“We flip that on its head a little bit and make sure that the farmers are getting what they’re worth,” Randolph said.
Everything sold at Grandad’s is Wisconsin-grown, Wisconsin-made or comes from a Wisconsin business. Randolph said most products currently come from within about 45 minutes of the store.
The store is heavily inspired by Argus Farm Stop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which uses a similar model to create another retail outlet for local farmers. Randolph said the number of farm stops around the country has grown in recent years.
For manager Bailey Buettner, the store is also about helping people reconnect with where their food comes from.
“And it’s just a way that I think people can connect back to their food and connect back to the land that is growing their food and realize that food doesn’t just show up on shelves at a grocery store,” Buettner said. “There are stories and faces and hands and land that is working really hard to feed communities.”
Just over a week after opening, Buettner said that connection is already extending into the neighborhood.
“Yeah, we have felt so supported and encouraged by the local community. Especially like so many walkers and bikers. And so, it’s really cool to see people that are literal neighbors of ours like coming and like people that we’ve only been open a little over a week now and people that are regulars and we know them by name and we know their coffee order.”
Grandad’s also includes a café serving locally roasted coffee and locally made pastries. Randolph said the store plans to offer produce year-round by working with indoor growers and continue adding products with the goal of becoming more of a one-stop shop for customers.
For Randolph, the broader mission comes back to the people producing the food.
“Small farmers and small producers and people doing these small food businesses, they’re the ones who are literally nourishing our community,” he said. “So, they deserve as much of the market price as they can get.”
Click hereto download the WMTV15 News app or our WMTV15 First Alert weather app.
Copyright 2026 WMTV. All rights reserved.
