WORDS Tara Crutchfield
PHOTOGRAPH Amy Sexson
Buena Market As she looked to start a brick-and-mortar market featuring products by local vendors, Stephanie Gregg’s plans took a turn. Last year, many of us learned to be flexible under pressure and adapt in the face of uncertainty. How Buena Market evolved wasn’t expected, but it was what Gregg needed in a way – fostering a community connection, not only for herself but also makers, chefs, and artists around Lakeland.
leaders. She appreciated that Lakeland was of the size that she could enjoy a restaurant, want to meet and talk with the owners, and make that happen. She wanted to build those relationships because, “I was a customer, I was a fan, I was excited to try new things and see what was out there. A lot of those connections happened organically.” When it came time to ask if they could use space, places like Cob & Pen and Red Door welcomed Buena Market.
Stephanie and her husband Steven moved to Lakeland from Austin, Texas, three years ago. Steven grew up here, his family is here, and the couple visited Lakeland periodically over their time together. Though it was different from the big city she was used to, Stephanie welcomed the move. In Austin, she worked in urban real estate sales and management, immersing herself in the community. “I was really engaged in the downtown scene – food culture and lifestyle. Being in real estate, I felt more than I was a realtor; I was a tour guide, showing people what their life could look like if they lived there,” she said. “It was important to me to be involved in the community.”
After the first few markets, with her husband’s help and a core group of creative friends, Gregg “had a growing roster of other small businesses” in which she was interested. These included vendors who had attended a night market she hosted with the Lakeland Women’s Collective in early 2020. She began searching for other vendors to curate the market’s offerings. “I value the creative energy that’s here,” said Gregg. “I feel like not everybody gets a fair chance. Obviously, there are so many issues that affect us, whether that be race or gender, or orientation. […] I wanted to create something that looked different than what I’d seen around me. […] Coming from a place like Austin, I got to see such a diverse community and be part of it. […] I wanted to build that here.”
When the Greggs moved to Polk County, Stephanie wanted to start a business of her own. She began educating herself, found advisors, and joined Catapult. “It ended up being really good for me. […] It was a good opportunity to meet people that were interested in my ideas and wanted to help me develop them.”
Buena Market has become a collective of vendors offering locally-made food and drink, art, jewelry, poetry, decor, and more. Media collaborative, werlostboys (werlostboys.com) works as Buena’s photo and video team, capturing the market’s magic. Additionally, Gregg and her collaborators have begun hosting a series of dinners. Gregg teamed up with Gabriella Vigoreaux of Vicky G’s in October 2019 for a pop-up dinner. “We put together this beautiful dinner party in our friend’s backyard,” she said. Around 25 guests turned up for a beautiful evening of food and community.
She spent over a year writing a business plan and narrowing in on a concrete concept, deciding that it would take the form of a brick-and-mortar store. Knowing she wanted it to involve food and beverage, Stephanie saw a gap in the local market. She wanted a brick-and-mortar market, offering specialty goods from makers around the community all in one place. PORCH POP-UP TURNED POPULAR MARKET As she neared the time to find a space and go after funding to make her idea happen, the pandemic swept through and ‘deconstructed’ it entirely. Stephanie had a few part-time jobs that she couldn’t work anymore and racked her brain for how to make this work. She met Drew Williams of 16.92 Coffee Matcha Bar. He was a connoisseur of coffee enthusiastic about his trade, and coffee was something she wanted to be a part of the eventual business.
Gregg hosted a dinner at their holiday market last year with Vicky G’s and Casita Verde. The group had such a blast they wanted to continue doing them. “I think we’re going to do a monthly pop-up dinner,” she said. “I love the pop-up dinners because it gives them an opportunity to flex those chef muscles and get creative and work together.” The dinners are held in much the same way the markets are, says Gregg, popping up in spaces around town with different themes. Buena Market is currently held twice a month and the dinners once a month. Information about each market and tickets for the dinners are available on their website and social media.
“I thought, ‘Why not do a pop-up on my front porch?’” Stephanie invited Williams and a group of her most creative friends to set up shop on her porch for a pop-up market last July. She put the word out to friends and the growing following she had for Buena Market online, letting them know about the outdoor, socially distant, mask-required event. It was her birthday weekend, and Stephanie was thrilled to have some 40 friends and strangers come through the market.
“There are so many talented people in this community, and they’re contributing something really special to Buena Market. I’m just creating space for them to do their thing,” she said. “I feel like they’re all taking a chance on me as much as I am them.” HONORING HER GRANDMOTHERS
A few pop-ups later, Buena Market had outgrown Stephanie’s front porch. She reached out to community business owners to use their space. Before the pandemic and her pop-ups, Stephanie dug into the community as she’d done in Austin – meeting other business owners, creatives, and community
This sentiment of creating space and lifting others is almost hardwired into Stephanie Gregg. She is a purveyor of community because her grandmothers were before her. The title ‘Buena’ is a combination of the names she used to refer to her maternal and paternal grandmothers – Abuela, her dad’s mother, Juliana - CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 -
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