close window

Katy Lesser Grew her Natural Foods Market from a Tiny Sprout

written by Ann Jandafor Venus Rising Magazine

Taurus 08 Issue

Twenty-two years ago, Katy Lesser was about to go back to graduate school, but she felt that it would be more responsible to work and make money to support her family. She had grown up in a Jewish family where food was a big part of daily life. As a member of the local food coop, she never went to any other natural foods stores, but one day she couldn't find an ingredient there and heard about a tiny store called Healthy Living. She found out that it was for sale, and she bought it. Now a 30,000 square-foot, grocery-store-size market with 150 employees, Healthy Living is literally feeding the Burlington, Vermont area community.

"When I first discovered Healthy Living, it was the strangest little place," says Katy, "natural foods, cuckoo clocks, Chinese bicycles, esoteric European cookware....an odd mix of products but kind of fascinating. I had no experience in business. It was a really crazy move!" 

For the first three years Katy's then-husband, Peter Goldsmith, ran the store with her. "Peter had a business degree and really got things off the ground. I had no clue."  Katy had heard that after three years a business that's going to "make it" will know. "But after three years, things were very iffy. Peter was ready to do something different and I realized I would have grow up, learn the business, and do the hard stuff if we were to survive. It was a turning point for me."  Katy will be the first to tell you that it wasn't until after more than ten years that she finally knew Healthy Living was viable.  "I really had some hard times on every front with my business. It was not an easy road, but I'm tenacious, and you absolutely have to be that way to make it."

Now a mix of health and gourmet foods, local products, and a large selection of beer and wine, natural body care, and vitamins, the new Healthy Living is perhaps the most eclectic food store in the area. "We moved from 7000 square feet to 30,000. We moved from 600 square feet of office space to 5000.

Healthy Living had grown in tandem with the natural/gourmet foods industry and by the end of 2006, Katy was completely out of space. "Customers could barely get their carts around. We didn't have half the products available to us. Our staff was working without the most basic of tools and space. It was time!"

Healthy Living moved into a new building that Katy designed and built on the lot of an old car dealership at the end of 2007. Katy says the store now has things like loading docks, a receiving room, a staff room, walk-in coolers; things that customers don't see or care about but make a huge difference to the staff. There are now over 2000 new grocery items and a larger product mix in every department. The cafe is much bigger, and it has become a community favorite. 

So how did Katy manage to create a new space almost quadruple the size of her former store? "It continues to be a huge challenge," she says. "There is no overcoming anything yet. I think it is going to take me about two years to really reach some equilibrium. Having a staff of 150 people is daunting. There are a ton of challenges and a lot of moving parts!"

Katy says she is very motivated though because she is providing good jobs to a bunch of terrific people as well as "a fun, interesting, surprising place for the community to shop." She also feels really good about providing a place for local farmers to sell their products. "I have always loved the industry and our amazing community."

Both of Katy's children now work full-time at her store. Her son, Eli, has worked at the store since he was eight years old! He went away to college, came back, has worked full time for eight years, and is now the general manager. Katy’s daughter, Nina, who also went away to college and then to culinary school, is coming back in May to run the cooking school and create the educational arm of the business. "I think they're both going to do some really cool things."

So what can other women business owners learn from Katy? "Do something that really brings you joy. Be tenacious, never give up, have fun, learn something every day, stay humble, serve people. If you serve people generously, you'll never lose."

close window