From the Farm to handmaking bagels and pretzels. One man's story of entrepreneurship through local food.

The guest for Episode 9 of More Than A Mile is Zach Blankenship of Z.N. Blankenship Concessions. 

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (00:00):

Today, I'm joined on the podcast by Zach Blankenship. Zach is following up last week's episode with his father, Chris, where he talked with us about Bluebird Meadows Farm. And today on More Than A Mile, I'm talking with Zach, he's a young entrepreneur in the farming and food industry. Right out of college he worked in the corporate world for a couple years, but based on the success of his family's farm, he was able to join on full-time and get back to the land. And he felt the pull of his ag degree. And it merged with his creativity and desire to provide local food. He created a side business. He intends to springboard the family farm into even greener pastures. Enjoy Zach's twisted pretzel story coming up, learn about his brother Lucas's new product offering and how the Blankenships have made Market Wagon a family affair.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (00:45):

Welcome to More Than A Mile, a local food podcast from Market Wagon focused on connecting you to local food through farmer stories from across America. I'm Nick Carter, your host, a farmer and CEO and co-founder of Market Wagon. We are your online farmer's market with a mission to enable food producers to thrive in their local and regional markets. Food is so much more than just nutrients and calories. It's actually the fabric that holds us together. And I look forward to crafting a generational quilt of farmer stories and experiences, the victories and challenges of individuals, families, and teams doing their part to help democratize food in America. Thanks for joining me for this episode of More Than A Mile, and thank you for buying local food. It's one critical step in making an investment in food for future generations.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (01:36):

All right. My guest today is Zach Blankenship. And if that name sounds familiar it's because my guest last week was his dad, Chris Blankenship. And now we are joined by entrepreneur number two in the family, I guess. Is that accurate to say Zach?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (01:50):

Yeah, I would say so. Yeah.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (01:52):

Well, thanks for joining me today, Zach. I love talking about local food with local food producers. Let's just get started with the simple question. How did you start Z.N. Blankenship Concessions? How did you get started with this?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (02:02):

I kind of--so I, my father's farm, mom and dad's farm Bluebird Meadows--last week's interview-- I grew up going to farmer's markets and everything, we're going on about 20 years now. So I kind of grew up around the local food movement, you know, seeing all the artisan bakers and the donut man, you know, bringing everything to Saturday morning markets. And so as I kind of was going through high school and working the farmer's markets and stuff, I kind of had headed aside, you know, what, what the future held. So I always loved farming, always loved the local food movement. Always, obviously, Bluebird Meadows has a special place in my heart. So I ended up going to Wilmington College, shout out, down there in Wilmington, Ohio. Close to the Indiana line down there. So I ended up getting my degree in agricultural business.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (02:55):

And so, I graduated in 2018. Next two years, I worked for an insurance group. I was doing agribusiness underwriting. And then, so how this kind of comes full circle. Bluebird Meadows started with Market Wagon and it hit the road running. I mean, it was, it was great. So, very quickly, those the, you know, year three at the insurance company, I had the opportunity to go back to the farm. So took that. And that's kind of how, how I got started with the pretzels. We went down to Alabama to pick up a old Coke trailer, you know, something cheap that we found down there that we could fix up. And that was my vision. My vision was to, you know, do fairs, festivals, concerts, all that kind of stuff on the side, when I wasn't at the farm. You know, doing the soft pretzels, we were gonna do pretzels, dips, and a couple different other items. And like we were talking about earlier, then COVID struck, we had one event under our belts. And then my dad was like, 'Hey, listen, maybe consider putting the pretzels on Market Wagon, see if that's an option for you.' So shot the email over, you know, I think, shoot, probably two, three days later, I think we had the products on there and, we're really rolling with that too. So yeah, the farms, my nine to five [job] and pretzels are my five to question mark. We roll them fresh every Monday, Wednesday.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (04:21):

Wow. So the opportunity, the growth that took place on Bluebird Meadows farm, which brought you back to the family farm as an employee, or, you know, part of that enterprise gave you the flexibility and the opportunity to then go grow your side gig, which is like you said, five to question mark, the pretzel business,

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (04:38):

Right? Absolutely. Yeah.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (04:40):

Wow. That's really cool. That's kind of why we're here, right? Enabling food producers to thrive--this is a great story. So did you ever get to roll that trailer into any events--any of them before the world changed and large gatherings of people didn't--did no longer happen anymore? 2020?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (05:02):

Yeah. Yeah. We went to a small little--it was like a community festival of sorts. Did one of them. Did decent, obviously with anything there's a little bit of learning that goes along. When you're trying to feed the masses, but yeah, yeah. That, that went well. And like we talked, you know, COVID hit and you know, overcome and adapt, I guess, is the, the motto here.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (05:24):

That's exactly right. So these pretzels are now available on MarketWagon.com and you said you make them fresh the day that they're ready to be delivered. Now you got this renovated Pepsi trailer or Coke trailer, which was it, Coke? They're all the same in my mind. Well, so you got this renovated trailer. Are you still frying your pretzels there, on wheels, even though you're not going anywhere or did you get a stationary kitchen?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (05:55):

Yep. We got a kitchen now. We moved into a kitchen and rolling them there. Funny story about that concession trailer though, we kind of re-outfitted it and it's now used as a barbecue trailer at the farm. We're slinging fresh brisket, barbecue, you know, pork shoulder, all that good stuff on the weekends at Bluebird Meadows. Yeah.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (06:16):

Oh, that sounds delicious. Awesome. So you were able to put it to use no, nonetheless.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (06:21):

Yeah. Yep. Thankfully,

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (06:23):

So growing up on a family farm, what are some of the biggest lessons that you learned?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (06:28):

Oh, man, I, you know, this is a question that's kinda--as the farming population, I guess, dwindles there's less and less farmers out there, you know? So you come in contact, whether it's at a farmer's market or wherever you may be, people ask, you know, what's it like? You know, what do you? It's a good question. I don't even know if you could, could summarize all the things that you kinda learn and just how you grow-- lessons learned on the farm and all that good stuff. I'm the oldest of four, so it's myself, my younger brother, and I have two younger sisters. I guess the biggest lesson would be more hands is less work, you know? My mom and dad, and then us four are very, very involved. Still are for the most part. Everybody is, my sisters are away at college, but when they come back, they're helping, they're packing for Market Wagon, delivering all the good stuff.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (07:18):

It's a family enterprise,

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (07:20):

It's family enterprise. Yeah. And, and I guess, I guess the biggest lesson, because how, how all the, whether it be the, the pretzel business or the farm itself is bet on yourself. You know, I think that's the, the biggest lesson. And if you work hard and you believe in it, I think there's always avenues for success.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (07:39):

That's great. I'm not sure how old you are. I remember getting the story from your dad on the family farm, but do you remember moving to the family farm?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (07:49):

I do. Yeah. So we used to live probably 10-ish minutes away from where we are now. Yeah. And when we built this house, it was, I don't remember the exact year, but I was six or seven, probably.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (08:01):

So you weren't born a farmer, you became a farmer at the young age of six or seven. Do you remember that transition? What that was like?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (08:10):

I do. Well, I think every little kid has their thing that they're into, you know, whether it be a firefighter or police officer or whatever, I always wanted to be a, a construction guy or a farmer. So,

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (08:20):

All right.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (08:21):

Finally dreams come true,

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (08:23):

Living the dream, right. Seven years old, your dad's like, I could do that. I can make you a farmer right now.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (08:28):

We need, need help. Yeah.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (08:30):

That's really cool. Now this, this little food entrepreneurship bug seems to be passing its way through the entire family. I heard that your brother Lucas now has a trail mix business on Market Wagon.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (08:42):

Yeah. Yeah. He's he's the adventurer of the group. He went to school for outdoor recreation, kinda leads, hikes and guides, hikes and rock climbing tours and all that kind of good stuff.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (08:53):

Ah, so hence the trail mix then?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (08:55):

Right, right. He's down in the Athens area. And he had this idea. It's funny, you know, we all have ideas and kind of bring them to the table when we all get together for dinner, but he's like, 'man, what you think about the, the trail mix?' And I was like, I mean, it's a good idea. You know, the active groups out there kind of enjoy--he's gonna go like the organic kind you know, locally sourced route. So--Which has always been important to us.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (09:24):

Okay. So Bluebird Meadows seems to be growing more than just grass fed beef, pork, and poultry. It seems like you're growing businesses. We've got at least three businesses that have started on these acres. We've got the original farm business, then your pretzel business and then your brother's trail mix business. Should we expect to see more businesses incubating on the farm?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (09:44):

Yeah. I, the ultimate goal for us is to open a local butchery [and] smokehouse as well. So to use those funds that we're getting from the side businesses to eventually open up that processing facility, you know, open doors for more local farmers to bring their meat to us. We'll process it, smoke it for them and then we'll do the same with our stuff as well. So we kinda integrate everything. We'll raise it, we'll process it, we'll pack it. And then we have our outlets to sell it as well.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (10:16):

Wow. That's really cool. Vertical integration is what they call it in the business world. So you're gonna be able to add more and more value to the products that you're already growing there on the farm.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (10:25):

Yeah, absolutely. And that'll let us do, you know, if we wanna do different smoked flavors, if we want to do different varieties of X, Y, and Z, we'll be able to test that here. And then if it's up to our quality, then we'll be able to do that for us and for others as well.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (10:41):

Where did you learn to smoke meat?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (10:43):

We do a lot of barbecuing, so we'll smoke, shoulders, briskets, chicken, all that good stuff. And that's kind of been a passion project of mine on the side, I guess you'd say. So smoking pork bellies, trying to do our own bacon, ham, stuff like that. Just on the side, nothing of, on the commercial scale yet. That's hopefully what the future holds for us.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (11:05):

Great. Yeah. Well, I guess if you're raising great meat and then you gotta learn how to cook it in the best way possible. So definitely it sounds like you're mastering that. That's neat. Now getting back to pretzels. So you had said that you had this inspiration for, you know, you've been to the festivals, you you've been going along, tagging along since you were six years old with dad at the farmer's markets, you see all these folks there making artisan food, selling it. Smells good, tastes good. But specifically pretzels. So tell me a little bit more, I mean, it's not as though somebody says, 'I wanna outfit a trailer to go to festivals and sell food,' you know, I might first think of elephant ears or lemon shakeups. How did you get to pretzels?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (11:43):

Yeah, well, I've always, I guess, growing up with the farm, you know, take more of a niche route in a way. And I love, you know, the county fairs going around to those and, you know, you get your french fries, the fresh squeezed lemonade, whatever it may be. But, you know, walking around thinking to myself, you know, what else is out there? What would people like? I go to a lot of sporting events [and I] always get the soft pretzel with cheese. Why don't I give this a try? So that's kinda what birthed it there.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (12:13):

Okay. So sporting events--inspiration for your pretzels. Can you remember--we talked about your farm memories. Can you remember the first pretzel that you had, that you were like, 'this is why I associate pretzels and sports.'

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (12:28):

Yeah, absolutely. I grew up playing football, basketball, baseball, and the same with my siblings. And so we were at sporting events all weekend, every weekend. It seemed like if we weren't at a farmer's market we were at some kind of event. PeeWee football. I was probably seven or eight--in between games I got myself an original pretzel, salted pretzel with a little bit of cheese. And I think that was it for me. That's when I was sold. That was my favorite go to concession stand snack.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (12:55):

Simple salted pretzel cheese dip. And, and the rest is history. Now we've got Zach's famous twisted pretzels.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (13:04):

Yeah. Yep.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (13:04):

Is there anything secret or special about your your recipe?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (13:09):

Yeah. Well, we use honey--no sugar. So you get a little bit of honey flavors, which is nice. Other than that, I mean, they're not mass produced. They're hand rolled every Monday and Wednesday.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (13:21):

Hand rolled. Are they fried or baked?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (13:24):

Baked.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (13:25):

Baked? All right. So you've got a baked soft pretzel, hand rolled, no artificial sugar.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (13:31):

Right. Just the good stuff.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (13:35):

Okay. What's next for Z.N. Blankenship Concessions. What's next? Is it gonna be more pretzels or are you going to be expanding the menu or what's next?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (13:43):

Expanding the menu. I guess, no better time than now. I think we're gonna drop some bagels here soon. Yeah, we're gonna do some hand rolled bagels. So knocking out the final steps of making sure everything's good to go in terms of packaging and whatnot. Got the recipe down, but I think that's what's next. We're gonna put those on Market Wagon as well.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (14:04):

Oh, that makes me hungry. I mean, there is, you can pick up a bag of bagels at the grocery store and they're nothing like fresh made bagels. That's...

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (14:14):

I've done the test trials and they're definitely different. Yeah.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (14:18):

Oh yeah, that sounds so good. Great. So this has been fun learning about your business and seeing how it's been able to be incubated on on your family farm and kind of grow out of the family farm. It's a great story. Thanks for taking the time with us. I want to just leave it open there. Anything else that you want customers to know about your business or you know, why you started it or where you're going?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (14:44):

Aside from keeping an eye out for those bagels you know, I just--as we move along I guess maybe you would say into the 21st century with technology and everything, we're kind of moving from the in-person farmers markets to the Market Wagon of the world, you know? And so we always appreciate the feedback, the ratings, which is a great feature there on the site, like any business it's not possible without the customers. So, we appreciate it all.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (15:11):

You've been able to keep up relationships with customers, even in the digital world, the online farmer's market.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (15:16):

Yeah. You know, I thought it would be a little more difficult than it is, but it's nice to know that, you know, send the messages and be able to contact each other that way. It, it is both ways too. So customer to us and us to the customer. It's great.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (15:32):

Awesome. Well, in addition to just finding Z.N. Blankenship Concessions on MarketWagon.com, where else can people find you, if they're interested in maybe following your trailer around? Finding you at events when that starts to happen again, how else can people get in touch?

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (15:46):

Yeah, yeah. We are at the farm store here at Bluebird Meadows. I bake all the bagels and pretzels fresh there. For now I think that's about our cap.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (15:56):

Okay.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (15:57):

So, so I mean, mark wagon it's been really good to us, so I think we're gonna stick there for a while.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (16:03):

Well, glad to hear that.

Zach Blankenship (Z.N. Blankenship Concessions) (16:05):

Yeah. Yeah.

Nick Carter (Host, Market Wagon) (16:11):

Thanks for listening to this episode of More Than A Mile. Be sure to sign up for Market Wagon at MarketWagon.com or after downloading the Market Wagon app for iOS or Android. Follow us @MarketWagon on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for stories, recipes, special announcements, news, and just digital handshakes from our friendly farming community. If you enjoyed More Than A Mile, please rate the podcast and write a review on iTunes, CastBox, PodChaser, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Thank you for continuing to support local food.