We recently connected with Kelly Crandall and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

When my family and I moved here I was on the search for a great outside market to shop from! I visited all the markets I could and I was slightly disappointed in what I found. Some market just had food, some just had art and others were Chinese made products. I wanted a market I could go to that had a little bit of everything but wasn’t finding that in the East valley at all!! So I decided to make one myself! I live in Queen Creek and thought maybe I can create that here for this small town and so I started the process! I posted on social media and pounded the pavement to all outside events within a 50 mile radius. I took notes of what I liked and didn’t like at each event, and also handed out my business card to every vendor I came in contact with. After working with the Town of Queen Creek in leasing one of their large lots outside their library, my opening day was November 11th 2016 with 30 vendors and one food truck. The town was still in the middle of growing so it was a slow 2016-2017, but slowly the customer base grew along with interest from vendors. Now here we are in 2023 with over 180 vendors, multiple food trucks and thousands of customers at every market!! It’s hard work but so happy I stuck with it and I’m so grateful for our vendors, especially the ones who stuck with me from the very beginning!! I’m also thankful for my family who are all fully involved in making this successful.

Kelly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Kelly Crandall and I’m the owner of Queen Creek Family Market. My family and I moved here over 6 years ago from Southern California. I come from a large family of entrepreneurs who have showed me what it’s like to work hard, always be dependable and loyal and everything else great will follow. I’m a wife and a mother of one child and several animals, I also have a regular full time job besides running out market. Our market has become a family affair and it’s something we enjoy doing together while also teaching our daughter about hard work. We have built wonderful relationships with our vendors and some of them we can now call family. I’m most proud to have the support of my family and friends and most proud that I can create a place that gives these vendors an opportunity to do what they love and also make money for their families.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I first had the idea to start this market I did not have support from anyone. The first time I met with the town, I can tell the person I was speaking with was not very confident and had also shared with me that people in the past have tried and failed. I also had some skeptics at home and from my friends at the time. Weirdly it didn’t sway me away from the idea and making it happen. I’m the type of person when you tell me No or tell me I can’t do something, it makes me want to do it that much more!!! Believe me when I say there were many time I felt like giving up, but I also knew how fast our town was growing so I knew I had to be patient! And now I feel like my patience has paid off and now everyone I know is supportive and confident with my ability to pull the impossible off!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

When your dealing with multiple people you need to learn patience. I treat everyone the way I would want to be treated. And NEVER have made anyone feel that they are not important. Loyalty is also important in this business, I offer a lot more than most coordinators do from what I’m told my many vendors which makes me happy that I’m doing the right thing. Communication is also key!!! Communication is important and treating each other with respect is very important as well when you want to keep the business alive and also keep your amazing vendors who support you!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.queencreekfamilymarket.com
• Instagram: @queencreekfamily
• Facebook: Queen Creek Family Market

Image Credits
The market My daughter Sierra Nola Flames Love Connection Dog Rescue Old Glory