Madison shoppers on the city’s west side will soon have a new place to buy strictly Wisconsin-made foods. Grandad’s Farm Stop is converting the former Dan Moore’s towing location on Mineral Point Road into a locally focused market and small café that its owner says will only carry products from Wisconsin businesses.
What will change for residents
The store is scheduled to open before the end of the season — owner Patrick Randolph is aiming for August or September — and will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. The shop will offer a range of items from produce and meat to frozen pizzas and shelf-stable goods such as pickled vegetables and organic flour, plus a café serving locally roasted coffee and pastries sourced from area bakeries.
How the vendor model works
Randolph describes the shop as a hybrid between a co-op and a farmers’ market: it operates like a retail grocery but stocks only locally sourced products and lets vendors set prices. About 55 farmers and small Wisconsin businesses have signed on to sell through the shop so far. Under the planned arrangement, vendors will receive 70% of the profits from products sold at Grandad’s.
- Location: former Dan Moore’s towing site on Mineral Point Road
- Hours: 7 a.m.–7 p.m., daily
- Vendor share: 70% of sales revenue
“We're trying to be as much of a one-stop shop as possible,” Randolph said, adding that the farm stop is intended to give smaller producers sales options without wholesale quantities or farmers’ market shifts.
Randolph, who spent a decade in education before managing a small farm and later helping on a family friend’s farm, said the model aims to reduce barriers for producers who cannot meet co-op wholesale demands or commit to long market days. He framed the effort as support for farmers at a time when many are facing financial strain; he noted that more farms are filing for bankruptcy and that producers often work 15 to 16 hour days.
Local context and consequences
For consumers, Grandad’s offers another way to buy locally produced food without the scheduling or selection limits of farmers’ markets. For small farmers and food businesses, the store could provide a retail outlet that accepts smaller quantities and allows vendors to control pricing. The 70% revenue share is intended to put more proceeds directly in producers’ hands than many traditional retail arrangements.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Target opening | August–September |
| Daily hours | 7 a.m.–7 p.m. |
| Vendor profit share | 70% |
Randolph emphasized that the farm stop is not intended to replace farmers’ markets or co-ops, but to provide flexibility that helps smaller operations reach customers. Residents interested in locally sourced groceries will soon have another neighborhood option on Madison’s west side.
