RURAL BUSINESS
At Darts Farm in Devon, three brothers have turned two cattle sheds and a slurry pit into a thriving shopping village where the farm shop is the flagship store. We join them as they get ready for Christmas
We get a frenzy of people in the farm shop on Christmas Eve,” says Michael Dart, one of the three brothers behind Darts Farm and its shopping experience near Exeter in Devon. “They’re often after our Brussels sprouts. People come in early to buy them when they’re still fresh with dew.” Shopping at Darts is very different from popping into your local farm shop. For a start, the shop is not an add-on to a farm that grows produce for supermarkets, local stores or restaurants. It’s the farm’s only outlet, making it the beacon of their business. It’s also part of a bigger enterprise – the flagship store in a rural shopping village, a group of 20 stores and concessions under one roof. Come for the Brussels sprouts, stay for new kitchenware.
It’s a terrific venture – a one-stop shop for all your countryside needs. I pass Cotswold Clothing and tile company Fired Earth. Over there is an Aga store, and there a shop run by the RSPB (a friendly team recommend ways to explore the Exe Estuary). There are a handful of places to eat, too. Together, the village and farm are a huge enterprise, employing 300 people. The shopping village has been running for about 20 years, with the first restaurant being established a little earlier. It was the brainchild of Michael, now creative director. He had visited The House of Bruar, a large independent store in Perthshire, where shoppers could buy everything from locally made clothing such as Harris tweed and Arran jumpers to local produce including venison and whisky. “I thought, ‘We could do a West Country version on the farm,” he says.
GROWTH SPURT
Michael had been running Darts Farm with his two brothers, Paul and James. Ronald, their father, had passed away, but imbued in them the value of selling produce directly to customers. He thought it was important to establish a relationship with them. Ronald had done this by setting up a pick-your-own feature on the farm, making Darts one of the first to do so in the UK.
The brothers wanted to build this relationship on a larger scale, so decided to throw their energy into a farm shop, expanding a much smaller store. They then widened out the concept, inviting brands to set up alongside them. Everything would be in one giant building. They repurposed two cattle sheds and roofed over an old slu
