New Del Ray Garden and Market Officially Opens May 10
Mayor to participate in ribbon-cutting of business owned by Jay and Edea Portlance
ALEXANDRIA, VA-The Del Ray Farmhouse Market + Garden (1913 Mt Vernon Ave.) will officially celebrate the opening of its doors on Saturday, May 10. The grand opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. will feature Mayor Alyia Gaskins. A special Mother’s Day Market occurs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Celebrate and shop just in time for Mother’s Day.
Owners Jay and Edea Portlance took possession of the Garden Center property (formerly Bellies & Babies) on Feb. 1 of this year. They began stocking and selling plants just in time for the spring planting, infusing each plant with their unique imagination and care.
The couple were already established, taking over Del Ray’s renowned hardware store on the corner of E. Howell and Mount Vernon Avenues. They put their stamp on the hardware store, including creating and caring for an attractive garden on the Howell Avenue side curb strip next to the store.
Then the couple brought an idea to fruition by selling plants to customers. It was a hit. When the opportunity to expand arose, they jumped on it. However, Jay said he had more than a garden center in mind. “I wanted to go rogue with my own thing.”
Going “rogue” meant marrying several visions that embrace, in his words, “small supports small.” By that, he means his shops should support local and other small businesses.
The garden center will join the hardware store on the other side of Howell Avenue (basically next door), A mercantile market and a farmers market grocery store are now under construction. It is the mercantile market that Edea looks forward to making her exceptional contribution to their business plan.
She will seek only the highest quality products from local vendors. But she plans to widen her reach to neighboring states, ensuring a diverse and top-notch selection. By Oct. 1, the Portlances will open the grocery store. It will complement the Del Ray Farmers’ Market because the concept includes working with many of the vendors who come to the weekend market, providing a broader platform.
The couple asserts that “utilitarian values” drive their decision-making as entrepreneurs. They own a home in the neighborhood. Jay said he often focuses on their home needs when deciding what items to stock in his stores. “I open my stores for me,” he shared.
Utilitarianism is an “ethical theory that judges actions based on consequences, aiming to maximize the greatest good for the greatest number,” according to Santa Clara University.
The Portlances, whose top priorities are meeting the community’s needs, supporting other small and local businesses, and sourcing products while considering ethical and environmental factors, have very much tapped into the “economic emotion” for Del Ray.
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