Tiny Greens big winner
Downtown Business Improvement Area awards free store lease for a year to microgreen business
Tina Bromley and her tiny greens are moving downtown after winning Win This Space on Thursday night.
Tiny Greens is Bromley’s edible microgreen business. Microgreens are small, leafy greens packed with nutrients.
Bromley was announced as winner of Win This Space at The Venue, after making the Top 5 finalists on Monday.
Win This Space was a contest asking entrepreneurs to pitch their retail business for a chance to win a free 12-month lease of a downtown Peterborough storefront and thousands of dollars in prizes, such as office supplies, financial services and advertising.
The Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) launched the initiative in October through a partnership with Peterborough Economic Development, Community Futures and StartUp Peterborough.
There were 41 entries overall. The top 10 took part in a handful of workshops focused on business, before a panel narrowed the group to five finalists.
The top five were Meta4 Gallery, Scoop, Chalk Therapy, Tiny Greens and Revival.
Standing next to the other finalists, Bromley’s face lit up as she jumped up and down with excitement when her name was called.
“Thank you for believing in me and I won’t let you down,” Bromley said.
The mother of three started growing microgreens for her family out of her home about a decade ago.
“If you eat plants young, they’re anywhere from 20 to 30 to 40 times more nutrient-dense than eating a mature plant whole,” Bromley said.
Two years ago, she started selling them at farmers markets and then to chefs at local restaurants.
As of April 1, Bromley will be selling them from a downtown storefront, where she’ll also be growing them too.
“I’m going to grow it in the shop from the floor to the ceiling,” she said.
Winning the contest will allow Bromley grow her business faster than she ever imagined, she said.
“There’s such a scope to where microgreens can go to and what they can do ... and I feel like I’m one of the first ones to really tap into the Peterborough area and I’m really excited for the health of Peterborough.”
Terry Guiel, executive director of DBIA, was one of the 11 judges for the contest.
Bromley had the energy they were looking for in a downtown business owner and a really unique business, he said.
“She is going to be easily a great ambassador of the downtown and the region ... and her business has a great deal of potential to explode,” Guiel said.