The Loop Newspaper - Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

The folks over at Tehachapi Natural Market located at 20221 W. Valley Blvd., want you to know that they are listening. They are listening to your requests for a more extensive menu. They are listening to your requests for hard-to-find items. They are listening to your requests for online ordering. They are listening to your requests that they be open earlier and have longer hours on Sunday. They are not only listening, they are doing. "We might be a privately owned small business," says market co-owner, Sarah Rose, "but we consider ourselves a community business. Our goal is to listen to what the community wants and provide it for them whenever possible. That makes a win-win for everyone."

One request that the market has received is to be open earlier; that request has now been turned into reality. They are now open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., 7 days a week. "This is huge for us," says market owner, Teresa Dunlop. "Being able to grow, especially during a pandemic, is the dream of every small business owner. Increasing our business hours not only makes us more available to the community but it also provides more shifts for our staff. It really is quite exciting."

The other request for online ordering is in the works. "I had hoped to have the system up and running by February 1, but it's pretty clear that I missed that deadline," laughs Sarah. "It's really quite a project as it involves getting our menu completed with our new offerings before we can put it online. But we do have the hardware purchased and are actively working with a company that has provided online ordering to thousands of businesses. I've set a new goal of March 1 and I will reach that deadline. Nothing like putting it out there to the public to make it a priority!"

New menu items include three new acai bowls, a dairy-free banana split breakfast parfait, ice cream floats made with Virgil's soda and your choice of traditional vanilla ice cream or dairy-free ice cream and a fudge brownie sundae that is dairy-free and wheat-free.

"Teresa and I are committed to serving the wants and needs of this community," Sarah explains. "Being hit with a pandemic during our second year of business was pretty tough. It affected our income and tied our hands on so many things that we wanted to do. But this community has continued to support us, allowing us to keep our doors open and to continue to dream and plan of bigger and better things to come."

Head on over to the market today and check out all the amazing things they have to offer. You'll be glad you did.