Health food mecca celebrates 20 years in Beacon
Twenty years ago this August, Kitty and LT Sherpa took their health food business experience and brought it to Beacon, opening their natural-food market on Main Street.
The couple met in 1989 at Whole Foods (not related to the grocery chain) on Prince Street in Soho. Soon their relationship blossomed, as did their commitment to selling products that Kitty says are “healthy for the person and planet.”
It was, she says, a natural outgrowth of her interests in herbal medicine and environmentalism and her husband’s entrepreneurial background. It was also a creative outlet for the former theater performer.
Having worked for Greenpeace as well as in the natural food milieu, Kitty wanted to pursue a holistic path as she and LT explored business ventures. LT and Kitty first became owners in the health food arena with a store in Bronxville they shared with a partner. Wanting to strike out on their own, they scouted for promising areas in the Hudson Valley and discovered a “health-food desert” they could remedy in Beacon.
LT Sherpa is from Kalimpong, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas, and one of the Sherpa people. His father was a wholesale merchant on the Silk Road in India. Before LT and Kitty settled on the retail food industry, he had experience in the garment trade and other ventures.
After two decades on Main Street, the two are happy with how it’s worked out personally and for the community. “We’ve had steady growth, and it has supported our family of two and our employees,” Kitty says.
The market occupies 4,000 square feet and there are 14 full and part-time staff. Kitty floats among the supplements, deli and other departments. Her husband is general manager and takes care of the back-office work.
“We like to consider ourselves a one-stop shop for all your needs for sustainable living,” Kitty says. That includes produce, dairy and non-dairy, other groceries, household goods, bulk nuts, fruits and grains, frozen foods, holistic body care, makeup and a wide selection of herbal, homeopathic and vitamin supplements. They also have an organic prepared-foods deli and juice bar and post its daily menu on their website.
Customers are drawn mostly from Beacon but also the surrounding area. Natural baby food and kids’ snacks, organic produce and locally produced products, including cheeses and meats, are popular, Kitty says. “And we’ve noticed quite an increase in our plant-based product sales.”
When the Sherpas first came to Beacon, they ignored naysayers who worried the city was not wealthy enough to support their plan. Kitty believed that there was a cadre of environmentalists and other like-minded people who would want what they would be selling. It turned out to be true, with both their base and Beacon’s fortunes growing. Pete Seeger was an early customer.
Their plans include increasing managerial capacity and setting the market up for a long future. “I want Beacon Natural Market to continue and thrive,” Kitty says. “We created something that fills the need in the community. I hope we find people on the management level who are interested in helping to lead the store into the next decades.”
Beacon Natural Market
348 Main St., Beacon
845-838-1288
beaconnaturalmarket.com
