10/26/2026
From the Round Table: Behind the Business
Where no one sits at the head, every voice matters, and no business owner has to carry the weight alone.
THE COMMUNITY BUILDS THE BUSINESS — PART TWO
Last week, I shared how Jo Golden’s request for fresh vegetables helped Ellis Farm Store grow in a new direction.
Well, Jo wasn’t finished yet. She asked about getting good meat, too.
Once again, a customer saw a need—and a community connection helped me answer it.
Vicky Burrs helped connect me with Maze Ranch out of Medicine Lodge, Kansas. They raise grass-fed, corn-finished beef, and beef is their specialty.
Around the same time, Devin Griffith of Griffith Family Farm became part of the store, bringing grass-fed beef, pork, and chicken. Today, lamb is available in the store as well.
Neither farm had sold its meat through a store before. And honestly? I didn’t know how to handle it either.
But I figured it out.
We learned how to make it work, opening the door for two independent meat producers to reach customers through Ellis Farm Store—and giving our community more choices, with names and farms behind what’s in the freezer.
What began with teas, spices, and six vendors kept growing through conversations, introductions, and people willing to try something new together.
That’s part of owning a business: you won’t always know how to do something when the opportunity first appears. Sometimes you ask questions, learn, and work through it together.
Jo, thank you for asking again. Vicky, thank you for making that connection. And to Maze Ranch and Devin at Griffith Family Farm—thank you for taking that step with me.
Has a community connection opened an unexpected door for your business—or helped bring something you needed closer to home?
Pull up a chair. There’s always room for you to sit at the Round Table.
I see you. I hear you. You are not alone.
—Michelle Ellis
Ellis Farm Store Owner
Maze Ranch Beef, LLCGriffith Family Farm KS
