Summersville, WV (WOAY) – Every Friday, three cottage food vendors set up at the corner of Main and Broad in downtown Summersville, directly across from Town Hall, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The weekly outdoor market draws both regular customers and travelers passing through the area.
Teresa Eye owns Appalachian Loafing, one of the three vendors at the pavilion.
“Appalachian Loafing is a cottage-based business that specializes in breads, sourdoughs, yeast breads, also sweets, as well as seasonal favorites,” Eye said. “And I really like to tie in nostalgia and select things that remind me of growing up and remind other people of growing up.”
Carly Kimlin of Almost Heaven Pepperoni Rolls traces her business back to a boyfriend who didn’t like pepperoni rolls, until he tried hers. She launched as a delivery business in 2021 and quickly entered competition.
“We entered our first contest, which was the first year of the West Virginia state pepperoni roll championship. We came in third. The next year, we came in first,” Kimlin said.
Almost Heaven Pepperoni Rolls has since expanded beyond the pavilion. “We’re in several different stores, like Ellen’s Homemade Ice Cream down in Charleston, Waterstone in Fayetteville, and now we’re looking to get in more stores,” Kimlin said. “We do festivals, but mainly our main setup is here on Fridays.”
The third vendor, Susan Dangerfield, runs Susan’s Blue Ribbon Fudge, a cottage business built on a family recipe she has been refining for years.
“I retired in 2020. However, I wasn’t through working, so I started my own business, Susan’s Blue Ribbon Fudge, out of my home. It’s a cottage industry. This is my fourth year, and loving it,” Dangerfield said.
As for the recipe itself, Dangerfield isn’t giving it up. “I don’t share my secrets. I don’t share my recipes. That’s proprietary. But the ingredients are on my label. So you can go from there. Experiment. That’s what I did.”
All three vendors said the community connection is a driving force behind their work.
“Supporting small business is just so critical, so important,” Eye said.
Kimlin encouraged shoppers to come out, noting the products are made fresh and aren’t available anywhere else. “Come out, we’ll be here all summer,” she said.
Dangerfield echoed the sentiment: “I love it. I love my community. I love meeting people.”
Fridays in the Pavilion runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday through at least October, weather permitting, at the corner of Main and Broad in downtown Summersville.
