Meet Ben & Janna Marmon | Owners of Little Luck Farmette

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben & Janna Marmon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben & Janna, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
**** Social Impact: How does your business help the community or world?

We host 2 community events a year at the farmette, The Spring Fling and The Fall Fling! These events are family-friendly and feature local vendors, food trucks and live music. We partner with local non-profits to raise funds for their causes and encourage community members to mingle with one another and make new connections.

In addition to the events that we host, we also welcome travelers from around the world to stay in our carriage house via Airbnb. Some guests are visiting family members in the area, some are on vacation exploring the Rocky Mountains and the Front Range, others are in town for business or an event. The list goes on and on! We love offering up a peaceful place for visitors to stay while they visit Colorado.

We are also constantly dreaming up new potential opportunities for Little Luck Farmette! We’re not exactly sure where things will go in the future, but we are passionate about local agriculture, community engagement, supporting small businesses and education around growing/making your own food & products.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We knew the farmette had a lot of potential from the moment we found it, but we didn’t quite know what we were going to do with the property at first — and our ideas are still evolving! We knew from the start that we were going to renovate the apartment above the garage, but we were first planning to rent it out full-time to friends. Along the 2-year renovation journey, we decided to list it on Airbnb (not knowing if Erie would be a desirable location for travelers) and we have been blown away by how many guests have stayed with us!

The Spring and Fall Flings were born from an idea that popped into our heads earlier this year. We wanted to support local makers and business owners that don’t have storefronts. We also wanted to host an event that would allow community members to come out to the farmette for a fun & relaxing day. Erie has grown exponentially over the years and with so many people moving here, it can be hard to connect with one another. Being from small towns originally, we were personally craving local connections. The Spring and Fall Flings are much more intimate than many of the events in the area and provide the time and space for people to chat and get to know one another.

We are currently dreaming up new ideas for the farmette and aren’t exactly sure what will come to fruition yet. We always keep an open mind about what we could do with the property!

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.
We love starting the day with a coffee and a chai from Cristo’s Coffee in Erie. If you’re looking for a great breakfast/brunch spot, 24 Carrot in Erie and The Huckleberry in Louisville are both incredibly delicious! From there, we would recommend grabbing a pizza from Lefty’s in Niwot. This is the best NY style pizza we’ve found in Colorado! For a nice dinner, we would suggest Blackbelly in Boulder, Parma in Louisville, Piripi in Erie or 1914 House in Niwot. Some of our favorite spots to explore are Rocky Mountain National Park, Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, The town of Frisco, the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder and the RINO district in Denver

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The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We’d like to give a shoutout to our parents, who saw the potential in the farmette and encouraged us to take a leap of faith in purchasing the property!

Website: http://www.airbnb.com/h/little-luck-farmette

Instagram: @little.luck.farmette

Image Credits
Photography By: Andy Colwell & Jack FitzWilliam