The nearly 100-year old Chelsea Farmers Supply store across from the historic train depot welcomes all types of customers looking for all types of items including soil, chicken feed, pet supplies, plants, trinkets and more.

Married couple and business partners Tobie Brown and Joe Schlenke bought the store in January 2024 and have been running it since.

“I’d say the beginning was kind of like a whirlwind of information, but everyone was incredibly kind,” Brown said. “We’d have people stopping in just to meet us, so we could tell right away that the community was hugely invested in our success. That was fantastic. Everyday it’s getting a little more familiar and we’re feeling more confident about our choices and changes.” 

Brown and Schlenke live in Grass Lake and shopped at the store for years getting supplies for their dog and chickens. Both worked in the food and coffee industry while previous owners HK Leonard and Greg Raye were looking to pass the ownership baton.

“We’ve worked together on and off throughout our careers, and we know that we can do it and craved that experience again,” Schlenke said. “It is kind of both of our dreams to have something that feels like this (store), and together we were able to find it.”

Brown said the store’s history of success since 1926 made it a safe investment. She said her favorite part of the store is the community.

“The opportunity to connect with people is fantastic,” Brown said. “For most of my life, I was a barista, which is kind of a career about connection. Before coffee shops, everyone would go into the farm store to talk, and we find that people will come in just to feel a little bit better.”

Schlenke’s favorite part is learning something new every day and being able to share it with customers. 

“I learn so much every day,” Schlenke said. “Someone comes in with an old timer’s trick on how to take care of something. Someone has a problem, I have no idea what the answer is, so I get to do some research and figure it out and then solve the problem together, which is fun and feels like we’re actually having a positive influence on someone’s day. The job adds to personal knowledge, too, and I truly take all the things I’ve learned here and apply them at home. It (the job) is very stimulating and engaging all day long.”

Schlenke said the store takes special orders and works with customers to find solutions to problems they may have with their farms, gardens, pets and more in-person at the store, over the phone 734-475-1777 and via email @chelseafarmersupply@gmail.com.

“If we don’t have something or you don’t see it, we’d love to find it,” Schlenke said. “We want to find it in the best quality at a fair price and get it to you as soon as possible. Special orders are just as important as what’s on the floor here. It never hurts to ask for what you’re looking for.”

Chelsea Farmers Supply makes an effort to sell items from local vendors, such as soil from Michigan-based Dairy Doo and gardening supplies from local farms.

“We just want to do our part to support the things that we believe in,” Schlenke said. “Local is great because then you can meet the person who made it and trust that it was made responsibly.”

The store is unique in its personal connection between owners and customers; Schlenke and Brown are the store’s only employees.

“You can’t find many places that have the time or the manpower (to work with customers one-on-one),” Schlenke said. “One of the things that is so important to us is success in whatever project you’re working for and just being able to connect with someone, so even if we can’t find it, at least you can see that we recognize the need.”

Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

“The store’s motto has been ‘unique and useful,’ and I think that describes the store because it has a little bit of something for everyone,” Brown said. “We have people come in and say, ‘I can’t imagine that I would find anything for me here,” and then they walk out with stuff.”