NORTHFIELD — After 24 years in business, Mim’s Market is on the market.
Owner Kim Farmer said that while the store was officially posted for sale on Thursday, she told regular customers and residents ahead of time so they wouldn’t be surprised by the news.
“I was worried people would be upset,” she said.
Thankfully, Farmer said, the responses so far have been pleasant. Residents came into the store at 60 Main St. all day Friday to inquire about her decision and wish her luck in her next endeavor, whatever that may be.
Farmer said she isn’t in a hurry to sell the building, which houses the ground-level store, three apartments and the Northfield Laundromat in the basement. She hopes to find the right buyer — perhaps another family.
The 4,872-square-foot building is being sold through Jones Group Realtors, which has listed an asking price of $449,000 on its website. The listing notes that all equipment, fixtures and store inventory will be included in the building’s sale.
The market has eight to nine employees at times, many of whom grew up in Northfield. Once in a while, Farmer’s own children and their friends would help out in the store when they were younger. She described it as a built-in daycare.
“I used to burp some of them on the porch and now they work for me,” Farmer joked from behind the counter of Mim’s on Friday.
Now in their mid-20s, both of her own children have graduated from college and entered careers of their own.
Farmer opened Mim’s Market in 1995, gutting and rebuilding the space, adding the now renowned deli station roughly a year later. The market has been a pillar of the community ever since.
“I wanted a market that had a community feel, but also had some gourmet meats and other items,” Farmer said.
Hillary Ferro, a local teacher, spoke with Farmer while ordering a sandwich Friday. While she understands Farmer is ready to sell, she is sad to see Mim’s go. Ferro added that she hopes whoever buys the building will continue with a similar business.
“What will the teachers do?” Ferro asked, jokingly.
“I’ll have to write everyone’s sandwiches so a new owner knows what they ordered,” Farmer replied.
The idea of selling the building and store had crossed Farmer’s mind once in a while over the years, but she didn’t seriously entertain the idea until the time felt right. She said she has at least 15 years left in her before potential retirement.
“I am not sure what I will do next,” Farmer wrote on the Mim’s Market Facebook page Thursday evening. “I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.”
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.