Living Local: Mini Mart
- Co-Writers
- Jul 19
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 25
By Olivia Lee
A question I receive often is how we choose our guests for Living Local and I never know how to answer it. There’s not a specific process we go through; I like to keep it as organic as possible. As easy as it would be for me to Google “small businesses near me” and choose the closest one, I believe you lose that personal connection. Instead, I prefer to discover places by actively engaging with my community; listening to the stories of local store owners while they’re ringing me up behind the register, looking through the layers of weathered posters clinging to a grimy light pole, or just wandering around the city, being led by nothing except my intuition.
By immersing myself in the city I develop a deeper, more personal connection with future guests, which makes their story and our interactions on screen more authentic. Living Local is rooted in meaningful experiences to build organic relationships. Sometimes, the most organic relationships happen accidentally, as was the case for our upcoming episode featuring Mini Mart City Park.
Our Mini Mart meet-cute happened back in December 2024. We had planned to shoot an episode with a performance group at the Georgetown Steam Plant but had to cancel because all the actors were ill. The rest of our production crew got the cancellation message…except for me. By the time I arrived at the steam plant, I was confused to see no one there! Luckily our mentor, Mas, was there and informed me of the mix up. I was disappointed, but not all hope was lost!
Mas had ventured around the area, stumbling upon a building with the words “Mini Mart” painted across it. He went in, hoping to find a soda to quench his thirst. Much to his surprise, this was not a mini mart at all. Instead of shelves stocked with beverages and lottery tickets, there were zines, sculptures, and various artwork by local artists. After learning from one of the workers that it was a converted gas station turned art and cultural center, Mas knew this would make a great feature for Living Local. I went inside to introduce myself and the rest is history.
Production began in late January 2025 over a two-day shoot. This was our biggest shoot by far, with seven interviews lined up, a tour of the gallery space and artists’ residency, workshop demos, and more.
On our first day, we filmed interviews with Emily Kelly, the executive director of Mini Mart, where I learned about Mini Mart’s mission and its exciting future plans. We also shot interviews with the December and January resident artists, Bri Chesler and Minhi England who specialize in glass and mixed media. They were promoting their exhibit “BO(U)ND,” a study on how relationships alter our identities. It was incredible to hear the background behind the pieces in the exhibit. I was especially intrigued and mildly freaked out by the glass sculpture with the rubber tongues sticking out of it.
After our interview, Chesler and Englund led a glass workshop demo that I got to participate in. I created my own little glass necklace charm which was supposed to be a mushroom but turned out looking a bit more…abstract. Molding the glass was oddly therapeutic and I secretly filed away glassmaking in my head as an idea for a future Living Local episode.
The second day we filmed the bulk of the interviews as well as a tour of the space. The rest of the shoot was packed with interviews, from learning about the organization’s roots with founder Ben Beres to chatting about Mini Mart’s environmental remediation process with facilities manager Fedora Williams.
We wanted to make sure we were telling Mini Mart's story right because it's so vast and unique. We had hours of interview footage to sort through, making post-production a bit chaotic. However, it challenged us to think bigger and as a result, produced our most layered and complex episode yet. Each episode of Living Local keeps getting more ambitious and I’m so excited to see how far this journey goes.
I’ll admit, I was embarrassed and disappointed when I showed up to the Georgetown Steam Plant ready to film for a different project, just to find out it was canceled. But as one door closes, another one opens. Things may have not worked out at the Steam Plant, but it did lead us to a beautiful new friendship with Mini Mart. It’s crazy to think that this collaboration happened because of one missed text and a change of plans. But sometimes, that’s all it takes to put you on a completely different path. It’s up to you to decide where that path goes.
Just as I’m trying to navigate these types of unexpected situations as a host, I’m doing the same as a teenager stepping into adulthood. Both have taught me to adapt quickly, to push through discomfort, and how to find opportunity in the face of setbacks.
Entering adulthood feels a lot like arriving at the Georgetown Steam Plant; you show up expecting something great but find yourself standing in an empty parking lot instead. It’s easy to get discouraged, to think things are doomed. But that’s the beauty of growing up: you start realizing that the plan falling apart might be the start of something better. So yeah, while entering adulthood can feel like the Georgetown Steam Plant parking lot, it can also feel like stepping into Mini Mart for the first time. You show up expecting a soda but instead find a crew of friends who remind you that you’re not alone in this mess.
