Beau Jacoby
It’s a family affair inside Barrels and Bins Natural Market
The colorful storefront on Main Street in Driggs, just north of City Center Plaza, is surrounded from spring through fall by pots and planters bursting with blooming flowers and ornamentals.
There’s a continuous flow of customers in and out both entrances. Inside Barrels and Bins Natural Market, three generations of the Jacoby family might be working at any time. The ins and outs of the local grocer are orchestrated by Beau Jacoby, alongside wife and partner Esther.
Beau’s circuitous life path gives few hints of his eventual success in a local retail business. A native of Teton Valley, he loved growing up here, embracing what he calls its “quiet, rural, and free nature.” After attending public school through eighth grade, he was home-schooled in high school by mom, Cindy, which he says changed the trajectory of his life. From age sixteen on, he worked for his dad Steve Jacoby’s construction company, learning both carpentry and architectural software in the process. Raised a non-denominational Christian, Beau left the valley in his early twenties to attend George Fox University, where he stayed for two years, hoping to pursue a career in medicine and become a missionary doctor. He soon realized that avenue was not his gift and forged a new goal of ministering to youth. He returned to be the resident assistant for Jackson Hole Bible College and a youth pastor for the Community Bible Church in Jackson.
There, in the summer of 2004, he met Esther, who was attending the college. Their romance blossomed, but as Beau describes it, he failed to propose marriage in a timely manner, and Esther gave up on him, returning to her church camp job in Wisconsin at HoneyRock, a summer camp program that is a part of Wheaton College. Realizing his grave error, Beau quit his Bible College job to travel there and propose. They were soon married at Esther’s Wisconsin camp.
The newlyweds returned to Teton Valley, and Beau worked at first for his dad’s construction company, then landed employment at Plan 1 Architects, thanks to the architectural experience he’d gained as a teenager. Being a business owner was not on his radar. But during this time, a family health crisis became the catalyst to motivate Beau and Esther to pursue more natural food choices, a choice that resolved their health issues. By then, their family had expanded with four children and they were in search of a career shift that might give them a financial boost. One day Esther saw a “For Sale” sign on Barrels and Bins, put on the market by then-owner and Jacoby-family neighbor Kathleen Egan. It was Esther’s idea to buy the business, and the choice meshed well with the family’s nutritional goals and lifestyle. In 2012, according to Beau, the couple put together “a really creative purchase plan” that included hiring Beau’s parents, Steve and Cindy, as part of the crew.
For two years, Esther ran the store and Beau oversaw hiring, building, and technology, while still at his full-time job with Plan 1. But the pressures and needs of the store led to Beau’s resignation at Plan 1 in 2014 and full-time commitment to their burgeoning business. Esther returned to their growing family—at present, six children, four of whom are home-schooled and two who attend public school—but continues the business bookkeeping.
Now, a decade later, the store is jam-packed with a cornucopia of natural and organic products, some not even available in larger chain locations. Its tiny kitchen and juice bar create seasonal soups, salads, and smoothies daily.
Customers can special order bulk and case goods every day at a substantial discount, as well as follow sales on their monthly newsletter. And Beau, alongside produce manager Bobbi Clemmer, works hard to maintain relationships with smaller regional vendors and growers, to supply fresh produce, mushrooms, meats, honey, and other locally sourced items whenever available.
Beyond products and marketing, a sense of community infuses the business. “We really are a family,” Beau says. “Our customers are like those in no other place. We have the support of stable, local customers.”
As evidence of Beau’s dedication, a cadre of long-term employees remains loyal to the store, like now (semi) retired Lynda Olesen, who was first employed in 2009 by previous owner Kathleen Egan. “Beau is honestly the nicest man I’ve ever worked for,” she says. “He’s kind, consistent, honest, and forgiving. If it’s a nasty, ugly task, Beau will do it with you.”
By all accounts a successful business, what’s next for Barrels and Bins? The Jacobys’ main priority is for it to stay independent. According to Beau, there are not a lot of independent health food stores left, with chains and corporations eating up small businesses across the country. After that, Beau and Esther are in an exploratory phase, examining what would best serve Teton Valley. On the wish list: a general manager to take over in-store duties.
What began as a young couple’s experiment has continued and further evolved as a Teton Valley staple. This summer, look for Beau’s daughters behind the cash register, more evidence of the family’s commitment to community and service.
