Where We Stand
An honest update on Smokin' Oaks — straight from us.
“When I first shared this page, I told you we’d rather you hear the truth from us than from a headline. That hasn’t changed.
Today, I want to share another honest update.
As we continue through our Chapter 11 reorganization, it’s become clear that our retail market is no longer generating enough revenue to continue operating as it is today. Unless something changes, we’ll begin winding down market operations in the coming weeks.
That reality is incredibly difficult to face because this market has always been more than a place to buy food. It’s been where relationships were built, producers were introduced, and our vision for a different food system became tangible.
What hasn’t changed is why we started Smokin’ Oaks in the first place. We still believe our community deserves a food system built around local farmers, clean food, transparency, and long-term stewardship. We continue to believe a cooperative model offers the strongest long-term path for protecting that mission, and we’re continuing to pursue that work.
We’ll keep updating this page as things evolve. As always, I’d rather you hear it from us than wonder what’s happening.”
What Chapter 11 Actually Means
Chapter 11 is a reorganization tool, not a closure. It's a structured legal way for a business to reorganize its obligations while continuing normal operations which is exactly what we’re striving for.
Like a lot of growing businesses, we took on obligations in a different economy. Rising costs, inflation, and supply-chain pressure made some of those no longer fit the world we're actually operating in. This process gives us a structured way to reorganize that debt while we keep doing the work.
We chose this path on purpose: to strengthen our foundation, protect jobs and relationships, and make sure this mission can keep going and grow.
Chapter 11 is not a permanent state. It's a process with a timeline and an end point. The work happening right now including our operational restructuring and continued community engagement will shape what comes next.
In plain terms: this is not a company going under. It's a company doing the deliberate, unglamorous work of steadying its foundation so it can keep building.
What Hasn't Changed
Our mission first and foremost. Regenerative agriculture. Local farmers. Clean, traceable food that more people can actually reach. A food system rooted in the community it serves.
All of it is the same today as it was when this process began and this reorganization exists to give us a chance to protect that mission not to walk away from it.
We've also made some adjustments at the market to focus on what we do best — our butcher case, our smoked meats, our locally sourced products. These are temporary operational decisions made to strengthen the foundation while we pursue the cooperative conversion.
What Has Evolved — The Cooperative
The cooperative and the restructuring are separate.
Participation in the cooperative is distinct from the Chapter 11 process it was built as its own structure for the long-term work of building a community-owned food system, and that work continues forward independent of this reorganization.
In fact the reorganization has clarified something important about why the cooperative model exists.
The conventional capital model bank debt, outside obligations, a structure that wasn't built for what we're trying to do creates pressure that compounds in a hard season. A cooperative model is the answer to exactly that problem. Community capital that isn't tied to an exit timeline. Ownership that answers to the mission not to a lender's return requirements.
The reorganization didn't change why we're pursuing the cooperative. It confirmed it.
We continue to believe a cooperative model is the strongest path forward for this mission. Our goal is for this work to lead toward a community-owned operation.
That's what we're envisioning, and the people who step in now are the ones who make that possible.
For Our Members and the Cooperative
The Founders Circle — the founding round of member-owners helping build this before it's fully built is open right now. This is the period when the relationship to what gets built here is different than it will be later. Those who choose to participate during this stage become part of the cooperative’s early story.
We don't share all of the details publicly there are legal guardrails around how cooperative membership and investment opportunities can be communicated. One of One conversations give us a chance to share details of membership and what it means for you and your family.
Where The Momentum Is
We want to be honest about what we're seeing.
Real conversations are happening every week with people who understand what's at stake and want to be part of protecting it. New people are finding us through the emails, through social media, through word of mouth and stepping into the conversation.
The community that showed up when things got hard is still here. We’re continuing to have meaningful conversations with people who care deeply about this work.
That matters. As proof that when the story is told honestly when the conviction is real and the mission is clear, people respond.
How You Can Help
Join the cooperative conversation.
If you've been considering being part of this now is the moment. The cooperative conversation is ongoing, and we’d be honored to share where things stand today.
Shop with us.
Every visit to the market right now is a vote for a different food system and it's also how you help keep this one standing. Bring someone new. Tell the story to someone who would care about it.
Tell a friend.
The more people who understand why clean local food is worth fighting for the stronger this gets. Share this page. Forward our emails. Point people here.
None of this gets built by one person with deep pockets. It gets built by a community that decides clean food is worth owning together.
Schedule a Conversation
The cooperative is how we envision continuing our mission. This is an important moment in our story. If you’ve been intrested in knowing more, we invite you to have a conversation with us about member ownership.
Schedule a Conversation → Here
I'm Interested — Tell Me More →Fill Out This Form
Have questions? Bring them to us— we'd rather talk than have you wonder.
This page was last updated July 2026. We'll keep it current as things move forward.