VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - An online success already, a local Navy war veteran is taking her business to the brick-and-mortar.
Virginia Beach nutritionist Ashley Grosch spent years building an online business, The Farm Life Movement, promoting natural products made right on her Pungo-area farm.
The Farm Life Virginia Beach
A brick-and-mortar shop wasn't always part of the plan.
"It was more the community saying, 'Hey, your farm is really far away and we need accessibility,'" Grosch said.
Grosch leased her space in the Pungo Village area two days before Christmas and, with a lot of help, opened the doors to "The Farm Life" in March.
Her homemade products, including bug spray, lotions and body washes, fill the shelves, along with products from a number of partners. Grosch tells News 3 she wants everything at her store to be natural and eco-friendly.
"I grew up in that farm life space where my grandmother taught me everything. She was born in the 1890s," said Grosch. "I was just trying to modernize the general store, get it a little bit healthier."
In the coming weeks, she plans to add a small menu featuring organic foods and to start selling wine. The goal, she said, is to become a destination.
"It's a very specialized space and it's also an inviting space to gather," she said. "Even if you don't plan on buying a bunch of things, we want people to come and gather, connect, improve their health, form friendships. It's really the purpose of the space."
The Farm Life General Store is located at 1776 Princess Anne Road, and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
