Ali Callahan, General Manager
Ali Callahan is Chatham Marketplace’s new General Manager! She joins us from Wilmington, NC where she was Store Manager at Tidal Creek Natural Foods Cooperative as well as Market Manager for Wilmington’s Riverfront Farmer’s Market. In addition to her proven management, financial and retail skills, Ali brings a commitment to good food and the vision and energy to fulfill that commitment. She’s passionate about increasing access to healthy food for everyone while supporting the local sustainable agricultural community. We’re pleased to have Ali taking root in our community this spring; she starts April 23rd.
Bridget Perry, Head Cashier and Grocery Buyer
Bridget Perry grew up in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. After graduating from Keene State College, she moved to Boston, where she lived for 12 years. During that time she got married and had four children. In 2001, Bridget’s family moved to North Carolina, and in the summer of 2002 the family settled in Pittsboro.
Bridget started working at Chatham Marketplace about a week after the store opened. She feels very fortunate to have found a job at the new Co-op in town.
In her free time, Bridget loves to spend time with family and friends, listening to live music, and running. She has won first place in several local road races and can be seen around town on her daily runs.
David Dellea, Produce Manager
David Dellea has been our artisan Produce Manager for over 4 years. As David recalls his humble beginnings, he shares “I sold my first vegetables, from the family garden at age 10, with my very own roadside stand. That lasted until the mid-teens, and then I decided to spend my money on other things. I took a twenty year hiatus from selling yummy, fresh from the earth, fruits and veggies. This is where I need to thank my mom for her open mindedness and in encouraging me to reach for the stars. I also give thanks to my dad for scaring away all the things that go bump in the night as well as all those recruiters. During that time I managed to see some wonderful parts of Europe, Greece and the US.” David also received a bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Theater, from SUNY Brockport. Then his travels took him to San Francisco for 3 years where he worked for Greenpeace, the Food Bank of San Mateo, and on the North Shore fishing docks.
After all that, David found a new home called North Carolina. This is where his fun began!! He felt like he had finally found his roots. In 1991 he returned to his passion of selling fruits and veggies again. This time it was not a roadside stand, it was for a new store in Chapel Hill called Wellspring Grocery. A few years later, David heard about a Coop that was looking for a produce person. This was a perfect match as David completely supported the concept of a Coop. So he spent seven years with Weaver Street Market, in Carrboro. During my time at Weaver Street, I learned a lot about life. I also had the joy of witnessing the birth of both of my beautiful, intelligent, polite, imaginative, (I could just go on and on) sons, Jesse (17) and Noah (15). My first wife and I share joint custody of my sons. The newest chapter in the story of David’s life is that in 2009, he had the joy of marrying the wonderful Tracie Little. “I would be lost without her,” David says.
Due to the long commute and his well used vehicle (a 1963 four wheel Jimmy), David moved to the Durham Co-Op and worked there for four years. Then he received a distress call from a little birdy that brought him to Pittsboro. It was Chatham Marketplace, a new start up co-op, looking for a produce manager. And we are thankful this is where he has been since 2007. Most people who walk into the store make a bee line for the incredible display of fresh produce that David maintains in a meticulous way. Thank you, David, for making us all love to eat well!!!
Josie Battiste, Front End Leader and Grocery Buyer
Josie Battiste started working for Chatham Marketplace in March, 2010. She was born in Albuquerque NM and lived there for the first twenty years of her life. She graduated from a prestigious private high school there and then attended two years of college at the University of New Mexico.
Josie’s parents moved to North Carolina in 2008 to open their own restaurant, Angelina’s Kitchen. She followed them here to help build the kitchen of the restaurant. Josie worked with her parents for the first year that the restaurant was open, helping them as they got things up and running. Once she felt confident of their success, she decided to move on. She still wanted to be a part of Pittsboro, and was happy to find a job as a cashier at Chatham Marketplace. Over the next two years, she has advanced several times, first as a shift leader, then to grocery buyer and a front end team leader. Josie loves being a part of Chatham Marketplace and is committed to do everything she can to make the store successful.
Marian Wall, Events and Store Communications
Marian Wall was born in a military hospital at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Because her father was a Navy pilot, her family moved at least every two years. She has lived in Cuba, Trinidad, Iowa, Florida, and Tennessee.
Marian was married when she was 18 and became a “hippie” in the 70’s. She became a vegetarian and entered into the alternative life style that became synonymous with the 70’s. She had two children and moved to 7 acres of land. She and her husband built a solar house and raised their family on a flourishing homestead. They had chickens, honey bees, and an organic garden. In 1976, Marian started a natural food store in Raleigh that she owned until 2005.
After selling her business she thought she would retire and take a break from all the work that a small business requires. However, in December 2005, she discovered that a new co-op grocery was opening in Pittsboro and applied for a place on the management team that was putting the store together. And as the saying goes, “the rest is history.”
Miki Adams, Bookkeeper and Administrative Manager
Miki Adams has served as Bookkeeper and Administrative Manager for the co-op since 2006, before the store opened, and is an Employee Owner. A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, she earned a couple of degrees in fine art. She lived in Chapel Hill for 21 years before setting out for Washington, DC, Maryland, and south-central Pennsylvania. Now, Pittsboro is her hometown.
Miki’s work experience has included graphic design, advertising and marketing, business services and fundraising. Miki’s avocations include painting and reading, and volunteering for local non-profits.
Stuart Baker, Point of Sale Administrator and Grocery Buyer
Stuart Baker initially had plans on leaving Chatham County. He had spent a number of years here and thought it was about time to leave, find something new. That is until he came to work at the Chatham Marketplace.
Prior to coming to work with us, Stuart worked at Harris Teeter. He became disillusioned with the corporate setting of a “big box” store, and found his way to the co-op.
Stuart loves the co-op because he strongly believes in the concept of people working together for a common good. The Marketplace is a hub of self-sustainability and growth with-in the local economy and that turned out to be exactly the “new” thing he wanted to be involved in. Stuart has worked his way up from being a stocker to being the Point of Sale administrator and the buyer for frozen foods and dairy products.
Tracie Little, Wellness Buyer
Tracie Little grew up in the big woods of Orange County NC. When she was a young girl, her mom became a health food granola hippy type… (Totally devastating for a child of 7 . . . “What! No more Captain Crunch???”). Tracie lived though it however. In her later teen years she became interested in plants as medicine.
She also lived in Switzerland for 6 months where she traveled around and was a nanny to three Swiss girls. Upon returning, she moved to Raleigh and lived there for seven years. During that time, Tracie went to school at the Carolina School of Massage Therapy and worked at Whole Foods Market. After seven lovely years in Raleigh she decided to move to Chapel Hill, working at Weaver St. Market, then had a total career change and started baking for Foster’s Market. She fell in love with baking and became the Pastry Chef at Henry’s Bistro. True to Tracie’s diverse interests, she then had another career change and started to work at Earth Fare as the wellness manager.
In the middle of all this she met her husband David Dellea and his two kids and they all moved to the big woods where Tracie grew up. “I love being in the house I grew up in with my family. I love that they get to share some of the life and adventures I had when growing up here”.