By Christine Graf
Husband and wife Andrew and Kristen Holt are the new owners of the Glens Falls health food store Pure ‘n Simple.
The couple purchased the business from longtime owners Paul and Bonnie Savard. It is located at 4 East Washington Street.
Pure ‘n Simple sells a broad range of vitamin and mineral supplements as well as bulk foods including nuts, fruits, grains, and flours. They also offer an assortment of other grocery items, many of which are vegan, dairy free, and gluten free. Although the store does not currently sell produce or meat, the new owners hope to carry these products in the future.
Kristen is a native of Upstate New York, and the couple moved to the Glens Falls area seven years ago after spending the first four years of their married life living Kenya, Africa.
While in Kenya, Andrew worked as the country director for an NGO (non-governmental organization) that operated schools, orphanages, and medical clinics.
After moving to New York, he was the pastor of a church in Saratoga Springs for several years. He now works full-time for the U.S. Postal Service. Kristen was a stay-at-home mom to their four children before they bought Pure ‘n Simple. She is now the store’s only employee.
The Holt family has always favored all-natural health care remedies. Andrew said that it was during the pandemic they discussed opening their own health food store.
“We were looking at what was going on with economy and supply chain disruptions and increases in fuel costs. We wanted to open a health food store as a place for local farms to be able to sell their produce and beef.”
Two days later, Kristen was shopping at Pure ‘n Simple and a “for sale” sign in the window. She approached the owners and was told that there was another couple in negotiations to purchase the business. Two months later, when she returned to the store, the sign was still in the window.
“She talked to the them again and they said the sale had fallen through and that they were going to be closing at the end of the month. That was at the beginning of May, and we took over on June 6th. It happened very fast,” said Andrew.
Among the stores’ locally produced products are local milk, yogurts, cheese, hot sauce, honey, nut butters, and granola. Pure ‘n Simple also sells locally-made herbal products and essential oils.
“We have a lot of local products, and our goal is to get even more. We would like to get back to how things used to be where local farms and local producers provided the needs for the local city. I think that’s the greatest insulation protection from supply chain crises, rising fuel costs, and inflation. The more local we can keep it, the more we can keep our communities insulated from what’s going on elsewhere,” said Andrew.
Pure ‘n Simple is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. They are closed on Sunday and Monday.