Prairy® Products
Come check out our line of Prairy Bites, Prairy Provisions, Prairy Life and Prairy Outdoors products, many of which are made on site in our Prairy production kitchen or in the Great Plains region of the U.S. and shipped to a growing list of discerning customers around the country. Locally produced food brands are often overlooked and undervalued in a market long-ago commoditized by large scale producers. Although we have chosen to invest in our packaging and processes to control and enhance product quality, small by choice is one of our moto’s that keeps us close to our customers. We also offer locally inspired, globally sourced products for those “hard to get” items. If you are consuming it, using it, wearing it or giving it, just know that whether locally, regionally or globally sourced, our environmentally friendly sustainability standards apply to all products. Good “healthy food and healthy lifestyle” choices can’t be achieved in any other way. Join the movement!
Prairy® Market
We are a bricks and clicks retail establishment supporting local producers of various natural food and grocery products in addition to being home to the Prairy brand line of healthy snack, gift, and outdoor products. Our goal is to be the center of community activity, located in the historic Hanlin-Lewis Mercantile Building at 6th & Main in the center of town. We offer a wide selection of local, Kansas-made products, healthful whole foods, gluten free snacks and mixes, a large selection of local meats, natural foods and bulk spices, coffees and teas, bulk household cleaning and personal care products, and a growing list of gift and outdoor products.
Prairy® Bakery
We make breads, bars, cakes, cookies and deserts daily which can be purchased in the front of the store and we take online pre-orders for special occasions. Newton is at the center of the state known as “The Breadbasket of the World”, and needless to say, we are proud of it!
Deli & Juice Bar
Come by for lunch, a cup of coffee, a fresh squeezed juice, or a kombucha refill from our old fashioned, newfangled, juice bar. Or stop in and pick up one of our sandwiches, wraps, Banh Mi rolls, salads, fresh fruit cups or hummus dishes from the cooler.
Frozen Specialty Items
Take-n-bake frozen meals are also a favorite from the deli kitchen, a full selection of which can be found in our freezer section along with Newtons own brand of home-made specialty ice cream by the Salted Creamery.
Our History
The Prairy brand was born from our family’s love for the flint hills of east-central Kansas near where we were raised and are raising our families today. Prairy Market is our growing main street location, a local tradition and community gathering spot since its founding as Prairie Harvest at the turn of the century (2000). With its roots in the cooperative food movement, and an initial focus on bulk and organic foods, the store has expanded its operations and product offering several times over the years. In 2005 the store was relocated to the corner of 6th and Main into the oldest Mercantile Building west of the Mississippi, and in 2011 the store added a small space for Peppernut production, the start of our wholesale product offering. The Gaeddert family joined the rich history of local ownership in 2014, adding an expanded baking operation where you can observe our delicious peppernuts being made and readied for shipment, as well as being served and sold in our retail store.
- In 2015 the Prairy® brand was Trademarked and officially introduced, including several additional flavors of thumb-size spice cookies now known as Prairy® Bites, and snack mixes under the Prairy® Provisions label. Today we are as well known for our Prairy® Bites – Wine Crackers as we are for our Peppernuts, both help to put Newton on the map. The Prairy® Foundation was also established simultaneous with the Prairy® brand, giving the brand a purpose-based link to its namesake in support of the preservation and restoration of the tallgrass prairie and its historic communities.
- In 2016 a Fresh Juice and Beverage Bar was added, serving kombucha, smoothies and fresh squeezed juices, and in 2017 the Prairy® brand was expanded to include frozen take-n-bake meals, select greeting cards, candles and other items under the Prairy® Life label.
- Recognizing the community need for quality downtown event space was more than we could handle on the first floor, in 2018 the Prairy® Event Space was opened with capacity to hold in excess of 100 people for community events on the mezzanine level of our historic building. Inquiries can be made through the website.
- In 2019 a liquor license was added so we could sell a variety of locally produced craft beers as we continue to focus on supporting local producers, craftsmen and entrepreneurs, making the serving of alcohol available to us in the Prairy® Event Space as well.
- In 2020 the bulk product offering was expanded into the building next door with household cleaning and personal care products, and an expanded focus on limiting/eliminating unnecessary packaging and waste from our daily lives. We hope you will join us in doubling down on this effort.
COVID has created many a challenge and even some opportunities for those willing to stretch. In 2021 we made the decision to introduce a small selection of Prairy® Outdoors products. If this rather unusual period in time has taught us anything, it is the need to support good diets with healthy lifestyles. Hence we are extending our natural and environmental friendly food and bulk product offering into the outdoor products arena with a focus on healthy lifestyles. Our hope is to emphasize a mix of planting, harvesting, cooking and eating, with outdoor living through promoting both individual and group outdoor activities. Finding ways to enjoy the flora, fauna, friends and family around us. Part of what we call community.