Farm Gate Store

Farm Gate Store has been open on Fernhill Road since April 2011. It was started by Don and Shanti, a chef and a farmer, after about ten years of selling organic, farm-grown produce at the farmers' market from a produce and flower stand on an old 1976 flat deck truck, with a grill turning out handmade sausages and nut burgers.

They wanted a locally focused store for organic, specialty and handmade food: organic milk in returnable glass, cheeses and meats from neighbouring islands, Mayne Island raised meat all year while it lasts, a place for local gardeners to sell their extra produce, and a deli serving chef-made meals from seasonal ingredients. Their daughters helped build the store, and the whole family had a hand in getting it going. Today the seasonal produce, eggs and lamb come from the store's own Deacon Vale Farm on Mayne.

The owners credit much of the store's success to the staff, the store family, and to the community whose ideas keep shaping what is on the shelves.