Caroline Weaver is the founder of The Locavore Variety Store, which is the physical manifestation of The Locavore Guide, a detailed database of over 13,000 local shops within New York City. In the process of creating the ultimate "shop small" NYC database, Caroline has visited 129 neighborhoods and walked over 40,000 city blocks. And the Locavore Variety Store reflects this. Located in Manhattan's West Village, The Locavore Variety Store features local products that Caroline's discovered while building out the database and also from her previous life as a shopkeeper. When she was 24, Caroline opened up her first shop. It was a specialty pencil store in the Lower East Side. Caroline operated that shop for several years before shutting it down to pursue other opportunities.

Now, Caroline is back at it and delighting New Yorkers again with an entirely new concept!

We got a chance to visit Caroline's shop and discover how she's giving a platform to local brands and showcasing the importance of shopping small.

Photo Credit:Meghan McNeer

How did you get started in retail? 

I used to own a specialty stationery shop on the Lower East Side that specialized in pencils – my passion for pencils led me to write a book on the history of the pencil that was published in 2017.

I opened that shop when I was 24, and I did that for seven years. It was an incredible experience, but it was never meant to last forever. Some businesses, like my pencil shop, are meant to exist in a specific place at a specific time, with a natural expiration date. 

I think there's this really problematic idea that all good things have to be saved. Many times the creator, or business owner, doesn't want their thing to be saved, or it just can’t be saved. 

I don’t like this idea of saving all the shops. I think we have to do better in the beginning so these shops never need “saving.”I think we have to, we have to do better to shop at the shop so that they never need saving. That's the idea.

What did you do after you closed your first shop?

I was consulting for other shopkeepers. The typical demographic of my clients were very intelligent, corporate women who had a breakthrough during the pandemic, left their corporate jobs, opened a shop they always dreamed of but realized they had no idea what they were doing. Opening a shop is always a thousand times harder than people think it’s going to be! Then once you open your doors it’s like “now what?” I was helping my clients solve that. 

How do you solve the “now what?”

Opening a shop requires a clear purpose and a focus on community needs, not just looking inward at your personal taste. Hundreds of years ago people opened shops because their community had a specific need, and unfortunately, in today’s world, people open shops because of ego-driven reasons or because they have resources, which isn't enough to sustain a business.

Another thing people forget is running a store is really hard, and it’s rare to have immediate success. I think people fall into this trap of thinking that they created something good, so it’s going to immediately be successful. That’s just not the reality. Success takes a lot of time, and you just have to keep finding new ways to keep your customer engaged. 

How do you approach merchandising?

Photo Credit:Meghan McNeer

You can’t just stock items that you like! You need to stock items that reflect your vision and can shape customers' opinions, but you also need to carry products that actually sell. It's a delicate balance between curating your ideal selection and meeting market demands.

No matter how well you know your customers, sometimes you buy something and just nobody buys it. 

There are so many items that I love that no one's currently buying, so I probably won't reorder them because every inch of shelf space counts!

What’s your best selling product? 

It looks like a lip balm or glue stick, but it's actually a stain remover. It’s a patented product by a pencil company in New Jersey. They’re actually the oldest pencil company in America. 

How do you get foot traffic? 

The Locavore Variety Store is a shop version of an online directory that I operate called The Locavore Guide. A lot of people explore our online guide and then come into the store. We’re also located in a heavy foot-traffic area so that helps, plus my former customers from my pencil shop have followed me to this store. 

Any advice for people who want to open a store or pursue their own thing? 

I think that there is no shortage of people in this world who have great ideas and are innately curious. What many don't realize is that it’s as simple as trusting your gut and doing it. Once you start, you're halfway there. Have the confidence and courage to do it.  

Another piece of advice is actually from my mom! When I was a kid, she always reminded me  that to succeed in life all you have to do is show up on time and do your job. As a kid, I felt like this was very basic and obvious advice, but as I got older, I realized how right she was. So many people don’t even do this. If you show up on time and do your job, you’ll succeed.