After a decade at 65 East Broad Street In Hopewell Borough, Brick Farm Market will close its doors as of December 10 in favor of a trimmed-down version a little way up the road at Brick Farm Tavern.
In a letter posted to the Market’s website, the founders shared some of the hardships they have faced including the closure of the bridge in Hopewell, the pandemic, and severe labor shortages. Despite the company making moves to improve the business by doing things like extending their dining hours, the closure of Brick Farm Market is necessary, they say. The letter said that the plan is to go back to their roots by delivering Double Brook Farm meats and products to their new market at Brick Farm Tavern.
“The main reason is that we are farmers first and we are trying to find a sustainable format that is going to allow us to keep the business healthy and still bring all the goods from the farm to the consumer,” said Otto Zizak, Managing Director of the Brick Farm Group.
The founders said they found themselves competing with Amazon and supermarkets which, according is not what they have ever been about. That financial drain left them unable to invest time and money into farming and delivering to customers in a direct, fair, and affordable way.
When Zizak and his wife Maria joined long-time owners Robin and Jon McConaughy in managing operations at Brick Farm Market back in May of 2022, they moved their own restaurant, Ottoburger, into the market.
“Ottoburger started out a few years ago as a standalone burger shop,” said Zizak. “When we joined forces with the market… it was not a good fit because it took too long to make on busy days. So it is currently on hold”.
Zizak said they are looking for a new separate brick and mortar location to house Ottoburger.
The new market at Brick Farm Tavern will be a streamlined version and will continue to carry all of the same meats, baked goods, cheeses, produce, and condiments customers have come to rely on. Zizak said the owners have not decided what will become of the East Broad Street location yet but he said he hopes it will stay in the organization and will include a farm to table element.
Brick Farm Tavern will be hosting a soft opening with a Q & A on December 13 at 5 pm. Registration for the event is located here and Brick Farm Group owners Robin, John, Maria, and Otto will be present at the event to answer questions about their business as well as to share complimentary food and drink.
