Our blog series entitled Norm’s Farms Elderberry Ambassadors celebrates the small, independently owned health food stores and practitioners that gave Norm’s Farms its start. Harmony Farms, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is one of those independently owned stores that made a huge difference to Norm’s Farms in our early days because of their large customer base and because of the great customer service they provide to every person who walks through their doors.
The history of Harmony Farms began over 45 years ago when the first Harmony Farms store was opened in Chapel Hill, NC in 1974. The store moved from Chapel Hill to Raleigh in 1976 and then opened the Creedmore Rd. location in 1984, where it has been for over 36 years. Over the ensuing years the store expanded its foot print several times and changed ownership a couple times, too. The current owners, Steve and Nancy Long, will celebrate 15 years of ownership on May 2 of this year and it has been their careful stewardship of the store, fantastic customer service, and amazing personal educations in health and wellness that has made them so valuable to their community.
The history of Harmony Farms began over 45 years ago when the first Harmony Farms store was opened in Chapel Hill, NC in 1974. The store moved from Chapel Hill to Raleigh in 1976 and then opened the Creedmore Rd. location in 1984, where it has been for over 36 years. Over the ensuing years the store expanded its foot print several times and changed ownership a couple times, too. The current owners, Steve and Nancy Long, will celebrate 15 years of ownership on May 2 of this year and it has been their careful stewardship of the store, fantastic customer service, and amazing personal educations in health and wellness that has made them so valuable to their community.
Nancy credits much of her lifelong interest in the natural ways of obtaining and maintaining health to her Croatian mother. As Nancy remembers it, her mom kept the whole family healthy through traditions handed down generation to generation and it was through her mom that she learned how to use many herbal medicines. As an adult, Nancy first pursued her interest in healing through a career in nursing. Nancy worked for a variety of hospitals in many different positions before leaving nursing to learn about the retail side of natural remedies. Nancy worked for a variety of well-known firms like GNC and the makers of Vicks VapoRub, sometimes in a position of sales, sometimes in a management position, obtaining an invaluable education about the natural supplement industry. Nancy also found time to study Reiki and to enroll at the Trinity School of Natural health, where she earned an advanced degree as a Classical Naturopathic Doctor, CNHP.
The Longs are committed to sourcing as many products as they can from local vendors. Harmony Farms has a great local produce and meats section where you can find organically raised veggies, grass fed beef, organically raised bison, ostrich, chicken, turkey and pork, to name a few. You’ll also find organically grown coffees, artisanal chocolates, local honey, organic wine and beer, and all kinds of foods and supplements from small local startups like Norm’s Farms as well as well-known national brands. Over the years their desire to keep current with the latest and best offerings in the natural foods and supplements world and to create a healthy, one-stop-shop experience for their customers created a big need to expand! When the 1800 square foot space next door became available last year, they worked out an arrangement to lease it. Renovations to join the existing store to the newly acquired space began in the fall of 2019 and was completed in a few short months. The extra space has allowed the Longs to create a great shopping experience!
With more room between the many aisles, a newly expanded gluten free section, a newly installed resource section where customers can access books and magazines to conduct research, and a break room where customers can attend events put on by local producers and health practitioners, the feedback on the new expansion and store layout has been overwhelmingly positive. And they even serve as a drop off and pick up location for local CSAs! In addition to these wonderful improvements, Harmony Farms recently joined the Independent Natural Food Retailer Association for the access it gives them to lower pricing and the Longs pass along these savings to their customers. As Nancy describes it “Our prices are consistently below those available at Whole Foods.” The devotion Nancy, Steve and their well-trained staff have for their customers is obvious, and the time I was able to spend in their store after our interview revealed that their customers feel the exact same way about them!
Harmony Farms has successfully created a strong community of customers, local producers, farmers and makers in the Raleigh area and everyone of us at Norm’s Farms is so grateful to them for giving us a shot in our earliest days. You can find our Elderberry Extract, Elderberry Wellness Syrup and Children's Formula in the supplements section of their store. They also stock our Elderberry Jams and Elderflower Syrups. Harmony Farms plans to have a big party on May 2 of this year to celebrate their expansion and to mark the 15th anniversary of Steve and Nancy's ownership of the business. If you happen to live in or around Raleigh NC, mark your calendars, because these parties are always a lot of fun! But don't wait till then to check out Harmony Farms; stop by and visit them the next time you are in Raleigh. You can purchase amazing, freshly made smoothies or coffees while you are there, browse their incredible offerings, and get just about any question you have regarding your health goals answered by their friendly and competent staff. We know you are going to love this community gem as much as we do, and when you go, please let them know that Norm’s Farms sent you!
