Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Franklin.
Hi Brooke, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My background is in sustainable food systems working with farmers who grow the food that we eat. I also worked with farmers to help get their food into schools. As my family grew I really began reading labels to find items that were not full of chemicals or lab produced ingredients. It was very hard to find, because even large-scale grocers that try to have “clean” ingredients still allow many ingredients in their items that have been found to cause illnesses. The flavors, gums or preservative are usually hidden in the bottom of the ingredient label. I wanted to help create a store that a customer can shop in and trust that the food they are getting is made with “real” food not ingredients that you have to look up to see what it is. I also am big on supporting local businesses, where more of the money helps support the local economy, When you shop in my store you are not just shopping in a locally owned store, you are supporting over 70 local farmers or small businesses. From working with farmers and local producers I also knew that we have a large variety of locally made items but most are only available at farmers markets one day a week so I wanted to create a place where these local businesses could be supported year round, six days a week and customers can stop in to do their grocery shopping. Franklin General Store opened in June 2025 at 11405 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS 66203 We are open 10-6 weekdays, 10-4 Saturday.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Finding items with clean ingredients was a challenge, in a world where we have so many additives. One thing that has come from it is some of my vendors have made changes to their products to meet my store requirements and in turn created a niche market for their own customers since they can say they are now 100% clean ingredients. I have a farmer who is a vendor that grows and makes teas, creamers, dried soups and sides and she has been able to go from using commercial broth, coconut milks, and oat milks (which I couldn’t sell in my store due to the unclean ingredients in the commercially produced items) to making her broth and oatmilk from scratch for her flavored creamers. She even makes her own hazelnut extract with raw hazelnuts,! Having a powder creamer that is only REAL ingredients is something that is very hard to find. Also items in my store sometimes have a shorter shelf life due to no preservatives so teaching the customers that they need to keep their bread in the fridge or freezer can be a challenge as some people are so used to always having bread on the shelf but that can only be done if it is full of ingredients that we do not have in our store. One of the largest struggles was getting foot traffic. We have not done any advertising but with over 70 vendors we have felt the power of word of mouth and social media. Many have heard of us and understand our motto of all local, all clean ingredients but getting people in the door is sometimes hard since everyone has their routine of going to their local large grocery store, so just trying to be the store they go to first, find what they need and hopefully be able to fill most their grocery list. We also sell gifts, and non-food items, such as a variety of bath products. I feel we have created a destination with the old-time general store feel and the decoration. Many people feel like we are an extension of Old Shawnee Town since our store has the nostalgic feel.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Franklin General Store?
We are a old time general store that only sell local food and household goods, all with clean ingredients. We support over 70 farmers and small businesses in the products we sell. We are especially an indoor farmers market and vet each item to make sure it is free from harmful ingredients. All local is what makes us different than your local health food store and all clean ingredient is what makes us different than your local farmers market. All of our items are grown or produced in the KS/MO area.
What are your plans for the future?
We do make a small selection of items in store as well so for the future we hope to be able to broaden what we make. We currently have grab and go sandwiches and a coffee and tea bar all made with the local products so we hope that more customers will see us as a quick easy lunch or grab a snack as well as their local general store to get any of the shopping done.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franklin_general_store/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/franklingeneralstore/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/franklin-general-store-shawnee
