Neighborhood Market follows its name to provide local goods to the community

Family and fresh food are two values that power a new mom-and-pop shop in Evergreen.   

Sarah and Rob Ratkowski, owners of the Montana Milk Moovers home delivery service, are now offering the community regular access to fresh, local goods through the Neighborhood Market.  

The market opened recently off Montana 35. The quaint shop offers dairy products, eggs, produce, meat and other pantry items displayed among rural decor and soft lighting strung across the ceiling. Anyone who enters is reminded of the comfortable simplicity of a family-owned business.  

“We just want to promote the farms and help people buy local really easily,” said Sarah Ratkowski, co-owner of the market and delivery service with her husband. 

The market receives its goods through the Western Montana Growers Cooperative, a farmer-owned coalition that supplies Montana-grown goods to businesses across the state, according to the company website. The shop contracts with local farms and deliver products to the market’s doorstep, Ratkowski said.  

Stocked on the turquoise shelves sit boxes of heirloom tomatoes, fall-colored pumpkins and ginger gold apples that look as though they had just been picked from the tree. Harlequin Farm, Elk Creek Colony, Farm to Market Pork  and Beef, and Mountain View Gardens are among the many farms that the market partners with.  

Small companies looking to sell stock have also reached out to the market, Ratkowski said. She pointed to a jar of pineapple habanero salsa made by “Dan the Salsa Man” of Blaine Mountain Salsa Works. 

Red Poppy Bakery burger buns and Bonjour Bakery & Bistro pastries are among the other local goods offered. Products can also be purchased through the shop’s website with DoorDash or Uber Eats as other options.   

Since the Ratkowskis’ first business venture, Montana Milk Moovers, began operating out of a shed in their driveway during the spring of 2020, the delivery service now tends to 170 customers weekly.  

While the initial plan was to expand the route to other towns in the Flathead Valley, the opportunity for a market arose when a room next door to their garage space became available.  

“This just kind of came into our laps and it was like, well let’s just try it,” she said.  

The decision proved to be a smart one, considering opening weekend on Oct. 4 and 5 saw a line of customers out the door, Ratkowski said.  

Ratkowski is also a mother of two sons and a daughter, who serves as employees for the shop. Running a family business has its ups and downs, she said, saying it is sometimes difficult to navigate her role as a mother and a boss.  

But solving problems that come with running a business has proven an invaluable lesson for her children. 

“I see it as a really neat experience for them to grow and learn in a new way,” she said.  

The Ratkowskis have established themselves as the friendly neighborhood delivery service and now aim to offer an intimate shopping experience not found at larger grocery stores. 

The Neighborhood Market is located at 1735 Montana 35, Kalispell and is open from 9:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and closed on Sunday.  

Online shopping is offered at https://www.neighborhoodmarket.com/. 

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at junderhill@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4407.  

    Fresh mint at The Neighborhood Market on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Apple varieties at The Neighborhood Market on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Pastry products from Bonjour Bakery & Bistro at The Neighborhood Market on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Locally-sourced products like Blaine Mountain Salsa Works salsas at The Neighborhood Market on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Vine-ripened tomatoes at The Neighborhood Market on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider