Meet TaylorAnn Cantwell and Brianna Pierce | Co-Owners of Roots Local Goods LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with TaylorAnn Cantwell and Brianna Pierce and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi TaylorAnn and Brianna, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Brianna’s response~ Tay and I had started talking about wanting to do a farmers market together in 2022, but then she came up with the idea of doing something that could be utilized year-round, rather than just in the summertime. That’s how Roots was born! I was so nervous about the idea of being a business owner, but we jumped in with both feet and things just started to fall into place.

TaylorAnn’s response – In addition to what Brianna mentioned, I thought there was a great opportunity to fill a need in the community. As more people discover our town from more urban areas we wanted to connect consumers to wholesome foods. My husband and I are also farmers, so communicating with consumers about agriculture is very important to me.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Brianna – ~ We started Roots with the intention of providing a year-round farmers market type of shopping experience. Our goal was to support other local small businesses, while also introducing some products to our community that they typically wouldn’t have easy access to. A lot of the Denver area farmers markets carry some great products that we are now proud to be offering to our community as well! I wouldn’t say that starting a business is easy by any means, as there is so much to learn, but I feel like we have been so fortunate to make it to the (almost) one year mark with relatively few hiccups. A lot of people warn you about working with family, but I think Tay and I compliment each other well, so it’s been fun!

Tay – Roots couldn’t have made it this far without the connections we have made with our vendors. Our vendors not only offer amazing products and service, they also have sent their favorite food connections to us along with customers. Neither of us have experience in the retail space, so I think education and trial and error has been the biggest challenge we have had to work through. We are constantly learning, asking questions, and bouncing ideas off of each other to make it work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Brianna ~ If a friend was coming in for a week, I would probably be inclined to take them to the mountains for a few days. My family and I love to go camping, hiking, and fishing, and I feel like there are so many beautiful spots in Colorado that you can’t go wrong with whatever you decide to do. As far as more local options for us, we have a few local places to eat that are great, such as the Pepper Pod and Ben’s Pizza, both in Hudson, and then the 1919 Cafe here in Keenesburg. The Wild Animal Sanctuary is a fun local stop to see some wildlife just outside of Keenesburg, and support a great cause as well.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Brianna – I think so much of our initial success in our first year of business can be credited to our friends, family, and community. Starting a business can be very daunting, but we’ve had the greatest support from local friends and family, and we truly couldn’t have done it without them. That has been one of my favorite parts of this past year, is seeing how our community has shown up to support us in so many ways.

TaylorAnn – We have had so much support getting this business up and running and continued support throughout our first year from friends, family, and community members. My shoutout definitely goes to my husband, Casey. Starting our farm as first generation farmers three years ago has been a huge undertaking, but he never hesitated when I said I wanted to open a brick and mortar store. He jumped in with both feet and has offered his unwavering support and more help than I can count.

Website: https://www.rootslocalgoods.com/

Instagram: @rootslocalgoods

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Roots-Local-Goods-61552416398158/