SAULT STE. MARIE — Independence Produce is returning to the Soo and bringing fresh produce with it, this time without a storefront.

In 2016, Independence Produce opened its doors for the first time in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. Partners Jeffery Batricevich and Eric Welch had an idea to bring fresh food grown internationally and of high quality, but still cheap.

They said most local produce in the Soo either comes from local farms, which only sell at farmers markets during certain parts of the year, or is shipped in from across the Canadian bridge.

"We started in Sault Ste. Marie because this far north, anything that comes to this area is either locally grown or brought over the international bridge and is taxed heavily," said Batricevich. "We figured we could do the same thing but cut out the middle man and bring in everything fresh at a cheaper cost to the consumer."

To get cheaper access to good quality produce, the partners began by bringing in food from an international port in Chicago. After picking up the produce in Chicago, Batricevich would drive the food almost 10 hours from Chicago to Sault Ste. Marie and sell it fresh without having to store it long term.

"We prided ourselves on quality, and we obviously didn't make a million dollars because it was more about bringing the cost down for the consumer," said Batricevich.

For a couple of years the store was a popular location for locals looking for food, but the store was forced to close in 2019. Now the partners are working to bring the produce store back to the city, with a twist.

Subscribe:Get unlimited access to our coverage

The new Independence Produce will no longer have a permanent location downtown but will instead be taking most of its orders online. The store will have a pop up location that will change location frequently while taking orders both online and in-person.

"We had a great experience when we first started it," said Batricevich. "The Sault Ste. Marie community was very open and welcoming."

Customers will be able to place their orders days in advance, and Batricevich will be able to purchase the food directly from the international port in Chicago before bringing it back to Michigan. While his partner is picking up the food, Welch will be running the store in its pop up locations.

In addition to reopening the store, they will also be bringing back the original produce boxes. The boxes are favorites of customers of the store and include an assortment of fruits and vegetables, including apples, oranges, tomatoes and more.

"If you were to buy everything in that box individually," said Batricevich. "It'd be double the price anywhere else."

To celebrate its reopening, the store will be holding a raffle in its first week and participants will be able to win a full sized produce box.

The online store front is expected to be up and running in January of 2023, orders can be made online at the Independence Produce Facebook page.

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Independence Produce to return to Sault Ste. Marie