Four Bites Show: Lindsey and RJ Marvin, Barrel + Brine, talk small biz survival Monday
Surviving covid, bargain-driven shoppers, and Big Pickle to sell fine ferments in Buffalo and beyond
In 2015, Lindsey and RJ Marvin, two restaurant lifers, decided that if they were going to dedicate their lives to any business, it would be theirs. They launched Barrel + Brine in a Carolina Street storefront six blocks from City Hall.
Ferments are their specialty: pickles, sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi, even barrel-aged Worcestershire sauce. Expanding into an industrial production space on Chandler Street in Black Rock gave them enough room to offer fermentation classes and open a retail cafe, with pickled eggs, housemade pastrami sandwiches, and a bar.
Then covid came, knocking the Marvins’ plans into a cocked hat along with everyone else’s.
Yet the Marvins aren’t starvin. Kombucha in a rainbow of flavors, sweet chipotle pickles, dill kraut and more are on shelves in their hometown in places like BreadHive, Wegmans, both Lexington Co-ops, and the East Aurora Co-op. Barrel + Brine has started interstate shipping, too, with distribution reaching into New York City, Delaware, and New Jersey.
They’ll join the Four Bites Show at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, to talk about how their small business survives among business giants, and a bottom-dollar-driven grocery audience that includes lots of people who shudder at the very thought of spending $7 for a jar of pickles.
The conversation, like other episodes, will be posted to the Four Bites YouTube channel so everyone can watch.