Riley Talain on investing and the need to shop small

This time of year is built for speed, big deals and delivery trucks — I know, I am a busy parent leaning into that game too. But what we need to remember is that when every purchase is automatic, the human dimension disappears and it’s too easy to forget that there are people behind the things we buy.

Little Green A Plant Bar in Redwood City is the opposite of faceless. It is a third place built by hand, filled with plants and antiques and the kind of visual texture that only happens when people with creative energy arrange objects in a room with intention intended for conversation. It feels alive because the people running it fill the space with their eclectic energy. Every time I step into this tiny slice of heaven, I am happy. 

The story of how Little Green ended up with a storefront on Main Street is something out of a pandemic-era fable. When COVID hit, S’bastian’s Coffee removed all indoor seating. Riley’s mom Sharon Grant had been a regular there for years and was working with succulents — they offered her the chance to sell arrangements in the empty space. 

As Sharon’s displays grew, she started inviting local makers to bring in their goods. Slowly, the space turned into a tiny hub for local retailers and artists. A year later when S’bastian’s was sold, Sharon and her business partner Michael realized they had created something worth continuing. They found a vacant 1930s historic building, a space that matched their aesthetic and gave the business its signature warmth. Riley, who had been working in food service and studying business, joined shortly after as the third partner.

What they created together is not a typical retail shop. It is a place where people show up to work, meet friends, take a class, sit with a cup of coffee, buy stunning plants (you may have seen my Alocasia Polly behind me in a Zoom call), browse local goods, or have long chats with the staff. While the original concept for Little Green was a plant and maker shop with coffee as the secondary attraction, customers pretty quickly flipped that ratio. People came for the coffee and stayed because the space made them want to slow down.

Talain describes Little Green as a “third space,” the term used for places that live between home and work. Historically, these were the backbone of communities across global cultures, but with the pace of life have become less of a cornerstone in daily life. Chains keep them alive in footprint but not in spirit. Starbucks and then CEO Howard Schultz is often credited for scaling third spaces in the United States in the 1980s, but earnings reports and 3-minute wait time targets got the better of the brand in the 2000s.

Talain lights up when she talks about the value of knowing the people behind the goods in the shop. They know the family grower who provides their plants, the makers whose work fills their shelves, the customers who come in at the same time every week. Names and stories — those things that bring meaning to objects. She wishes more people had that experience in their own shopping lives.

December will include three maker markets on the 6th, 13th, and 20th, each one small and intimate, letting patrons meet the person who made the candle or the jewelry or ceramics they’re taking home. There’s also a live jazz night and succulent wreath and candle-making classes this month. 

Rather than thinking of shopping small as nostalgia or charity, think of it as an investment in one’s local community. A dollar spent at Little Green stays in San Mateo County. It goes toward wages, supplies from local growers, payments to local musicians and contracts with local artists. That dollar circulates and reinforces community infrastructure. It builds stability in a world where more and more money is siphoned into systems that have no local footprint at all.

Small Business Saturday gets one day on the calendar, but it should function as a catalyst for behavior change — a reminder to notice where your money goes and to choose with greater intention all season long.

Shopping at Little Green or any of our incredible small businesses is a reminder that they are our economic engines hiding in plain sight, and every transaction is a vote for the kind of community in which we want to live.

So here is the question for all of us: Where are you going to shop small this week?

Annie Tsai is chief operating officer at Interact (tryinteract.com), early stage investor and advisor with The House Fund (thehouse.fund), and a member of the San Mateo County Housing and Community Development Committee. Find Annie on Twitter @meannie.