Lifestyle influencers Hannah and Daniel Neeleman, known online as Ballerina Farm, have garnered global fascination on social media. There, they give millions of followers a glimpse into life on their Kamas Valley dairy farm, where they’re raising eight young children.
The Neelemans sell Ballerina Farm products online, from cow colostrum protein powder to sourdough starters.
This spring, they’ve branched out to brick-and-mortar: a small farm stand in Kamas opened in April, and the Midway farm store will officially open this month.
On Friday, the Neelemans, their children and their staff introduced the new store to a flock of content creators, podcasters and reporters.
Hannah Neeleman said the Swiss-themed town was a natural setting for the farm store, which is tucked behind Café Galleria on Main Street.
“We have loved Midway since our kids were really little,” she said. “When this space came up for rent, we were like, we have to do this. It’s just a match made in heaven to be here, because we love this area so much, and to be able to offer to the community fresh produce and milk and things from our kitchen.”
The couple envisions the store as a European-style grocery, where people stop in regularly for fresh ingredients.
Inside, the shelves are stocked with Ballerina Farm products like flour, beeswax candles, gingham aprons and beef jerky.
Hannah Neeleman said the store will partner with other local vendors. She said the focus is on seasonal produce, inspired by the family’s recent stint in Ireland, where the Neelemans attended culinary school.
“I feel like there’s something so beautiful about eating what’s in season and what’s growing around you, and so I feel like that’s the main thing we’re going to focus on in this kitchen,” she said.
Staff showed guests how the business makes some of its signature items, with a soap-making demonstration and a crash course in churning butter.
Ballerina Farm’s food product manager, who introduced himself as Chef Alex, showed the group how to make butter with cream from the family’s dairy.
“Today we’re going to make it Hannah-style,” he said.
The guests gushed as the ballerina-turned-entrepreneur poured samples of buttermilk to pass around.
“Who wants one?” she called.
Outside, staff arranged sourdough bread alongside a platter of butter studded with flowers. There was homemade ricotta and an array of fresh vegetables.
Hannah Neeleman sounded in her element as she asked about one staff member’s goats and explained the finer points of making buttermilk. But for the Neelemans, farming came with a steep learning curve.
Neither was raised in a farming family. Hannah Neeleman grew up in Utah aspiring to be a professional dancer. Her husband Daniel, raised in Connecticut, is the son of the billionaire founder of JetBlue and other airlines.
“Honestly, I never – didn’t even have a fish growing up,” Daniel Neeleman said. “Not a chicken, not a cat, not a dog, nothing. My family was the most un-agricultural family to ever be seen. We didn’t even have a garden.”
Now, the couple is raising children in the thick of farm life.
“We built a life that’s really conducive to having our kids close – like the ranch and the dairy, the kids are so involved with,” Hannah Neeleman said. “Lois, my 6-year-old, she’s feeding the calves every day, and the boys are helping Daniel brand cattle.”
The father of eight attributes Ballerina Farm’s success to his wife’s instincts.
“It’s actually been really astonishing,” he said. “Hannah’s a special person. She’s got a really good head on her shoulders. She’s got a really good discernment. And so that’s been a really big part of our business, is just her gut-checking things as we move along into uncharted territories.”
The Ballerina Farm Store is the latest of those jumps into the unknown. It opens to the public May 27.
In Kamas, the farm stand is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
