Describe your current role.
I operate Chicory Market with my husband John Martin. We’re a community grocery on a mission to help grow the local food economy and provide a space for people of all income levels to access healthy food. To work towards that, we have a staff of almost 70 people. I’m in charge of supporting those folks and teaching them to support one another.
How did you know this was your passion?
I was a teacher for 18 years, and I’m passionate about the role of education in empowering people to move beyond the boundaries that are either imposed on them or that they have learned to impose on themselves. I never thought I would be a grocer or a business owner, but I love my job because my work continues to be about empowering other people. It could be as simple as convincing someone to taste a satsuma for the first time, or as meaningful as supporting one of our new managers to give clear feedback to another member of our team. But my days are full.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
When we were deciding whether to leave New York and move with our two small children back to Mississippi to take over the shuttered Farmers Market store, Liz Stagg– who was selling us her business– told us after some months of back and forth that there was nothing else she could say to help us decide if this would be the right move for us. “Sometimes you just have to jump out of the plane and hope your parachute works.”
What has been the best moment of your career?
I love those exceptionally busy days when I get to be on the floor of the market to connect with people and experience the momentum. Those are the days when there is no time to second-guess a system or analyze the data, and the days when I feel most proud of getting to be a part of this community. I am so grateful to have helped to build a place where people choose to come to find inspiration or connect.
What is your hometown?
I was born in Oxford, and grew up between here and Houston, Texas.
What are your hobbies?
I’m a reader, a bath-taker and a very messy gardener.
What is your go-to binge-watch?
I don’t know what it says about my psyche, but I loved Succession.
What is your last good read?
I just finished Butter by Asako Yuzuki. It’s a Japanese novel about food, feminism and true crime. It hit all the sweet spots.
What is your favorite meal in Oxford?
Any collection of small plates from Tarasque along with their charred radicchio salad
