BY ANNIE HOLLER
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

LOVELY — A family idea, generations of home cooking and the memory of a beloved yellow Labrador have come together in a new Saturday market in Lovely.

Sadie’s Market opened two weekends ago at 118 Chapman Bottom, offering homemade breads, cookies, cinnamon rolls, oatmeal cream pies, cobblers, candies and seasonal produce. The response has been immediate: The family sold out in about an hour on each of its first two Saturdays.

Tori Gauze, who grew up learning to cook and bake from her parents, Sarah and Neil Stepp, handles much of the baking for the family-run market.

“Dad has always had a desire to sell fresh produce in the area, and after he was successful at doing that, we started tossing around the idea of selling baked goods, especially after becoming patrons of two such businesses on the Inez side of the county,” Gauze said.

Her mother has baked throughout her life and passed those skills on to Gauze and her sister Kaitie Fields.

“Not patting myself on the back or anything, but we know how to throw down in the kitchen,” Gauze said.

The idea became a plan when Neil Stepp offered to buy the materials needed to build a farm stand.

“We kept talking about it, and one day Dad just looked at us and said he was going to buy the supplies we would need to construct the size stand we needed,” Gauze said. “That sealed the deal. We all just sat back at that point and were like, ‘Wow, we are actually going to do this.’”

Finding a name for the venture proved more difficult because the participating family members have three different last names.

The answer eventually came from a much-loved member of the family: Sadie, Gauze’s 10-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, who had recently died.

Naming the market after Sadie gave the family a way to honor a dog that had been at the center of family life for years. Even the market building carries the connection.

“Even our building is yellow, the same shade as Sadie’s fur,” Gauze said. “Sadie’s Market is the perfect name for continuing family traditions and making dreams come true.”

The market opens at 10 a.m. Saturdays, with Gauze doing the bulk of the baking during the week.

So far, customers have not given the family much time to keep the shelves stocked.

“We are so grateful and humbled by the response from the local community and those who traveled from other parts of the county, as well as from Mingo County,” Gauze said. “It has exceeded any expectations we had when we started this business.”

Among the early favorites is homemade pizza bread, followed closely by jalapeño bread. But Gauze said the oatmeal cream pies have been the biggest seller.

“These are not your run-of-the-mill oatmeal pies,” she said. “Each one weighs about a pound, and the taste will definitely have you coming back for more.”

Other offerings have included chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, cinnamon rolls, candied pecans and specialty candies.

Then there are the cobblers.

Gauze’s father makes several varieties and has earned a family nickname in the process: “The Cobbler King.”

Sadie’s Market operates on the honor system. Customers select their items and pay with cash or electronically through PayPal, Venmo or Cash App by scanning a QR code. Prices and payment instructions are posted at the stand.

Signs at the mouth of Wolf Creek and at Pigeon Roost direct customers to the market. It sits at the Stepp residence where Gauze grew up.

The family has also incorporated its Christian faith into the business, placing Bible verses on packaging and providing a prayer request box at the rear of the market.

“One thing we really want to emphasize is that we give God all the honor and glory for blessing us with this opportunity, and we use the business to spread the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Gauze said.

The prayer box includes paper and a pen for visitors who would like the family to pray for them or someone else. Gauze said customers are also welcome to leave praise reports or share answered prayers.

“We encourage anyone who stands in need of prayer or who wants to ask prayer for someone else to please take a moment to share your need with us so we can pray,” she said. “If you have received a blessing or have a praise report, we would love to hear about those as well.”

Gauze has created social media pages for the business and said customers can contact the family through the Sadie’s Market Facebook page with questions, suggestions or requests.

“We will take specialty orders if time allows and if it is a product we can make, so feel free to message us with your needs,” Gauze said.

Customers can also preorder on Bakesy.

The family plans to keep Sadie’s Market open every Saturday year-round, weather permitting.

“We hope that you will take a Saturday morning drive to Sadie’s and see what we have to offer,” Gauze said. “We would appreciate you spreading the word to your family and friends. Without the public’s support and patronage, small businesses cannot survive.”