Allison Clark, left, and Colin Woltmann stand behind their counter at The Hummus People, the only location where people can buy The Hummus People's hummus straight from the makers themselves. The shop also offers rice boxes and panini, as well as clothing from their T-shirt company, Stray Clothing Co.

It’s been a years-long journey for the pair, but affianced pair Allison Clark and Colin Woltmann have gone from small-time sellers at the farmers market to wholesale sellers for three different companies in seven locations.

“The building where we’re at, we’ve been making hummus in the kitchen in the back the whole time,” Clark said.

That building, at 305 W. Lee St. in Athens, is now home to The Hummus People’s first ever lunchtime locale.

“Athens just felt like the right place,” Clark said. “It felt like home.”

A soft opening was held last week. They announced the opening on social media, and Clark described the response as “pretty crazy.”

“We were blown away by the support,” she said. “We have a lot of followers on our social media that we’ve met at the farmers’ market over the years. We weren’t sure how many would come out after we opened, but people have been so supportive.”

The opening was scheduled 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday through Friday of last week. A post to their Facebook page on Thursday revealed they had to close temporarily because of an unexpectedly large lunch rush. A post on Friday said they had “doubled up” on their stock for the day and “still sold out of everything but some carrots.”

On the menu

The Hummus People currently offer four types of hummus — “The Classy Classic Hummus,” a traditional chickpea hummus with lemon and garlic; roasted garlic masala; “Memphis Black Bean Hummus,” a hummus with fresh cilantro, red onion, lime and black beans that Clark described as having almost a Tex-Mex feel; and “Spicy Voodoo Jalapeno,” featuring roasted jalapeno and roasted bell pepper.

“When we started at the farmers market, we had quite a few flavors and then narrowed it down, based on what people like, to the four we have now,” Clark said. “We had a cookie dough hummus and dessert hummus, and people really liked those, so we’re hoping those back now that we’re open.”

Clark said it takes about three days to make their hummus, as the pair focuses on using fresh ingredients and making everything from scratch. This, along with the fact that it is just two of them running the whole show and they still have their wholesale accounts to manage, may be part of the reason their hours were adjusted for the coming weeks.

“We’re definitely hoping to hire some help soon,” Clark said.

The Hummus People will be open 11 a.m.–3p.m. Thursday through Saturday this week, though Clark said their permanent hours will likely end up being Wednesday through Saturday.

The sandwich shop’s main lunch item is panini. However, there are hummus-and-vegetable rice boxes available for customers on a gluten-free diet and a grab-and-go cooler for customers who need a quicker lunch option. Most items are in the $5.99 to $7.99 range.

“We wanted to just keep it very simple,” Clark said.

Shirts for strays

The Hummus People have not always been The Hummus People. In fact, Clark said they got their start as Stray Clothing Co.

“We started as a T-shirt company,” she said. “We sell T-shirts out of our shop, too.”

The shirts range from $20-$25, she said, though there is a $10-and-under rack for out-of-season or misprint items. Ten percent of each sale goes to strays in need, though Clark said the term “stray” could apply to strays of the human or non-human variety.

“Right now, we’re raising money for Peace, Love and Animals in Tanner, but we kind of leave it open,” she said.

Charity and community work have played a large role in Clark and Woltmann’s lives. The couple met while working at a group home for adults with developmental disabilities.

“We’d love to open a charity ourselves in the future,” she said.

The Hummus People and Stray Clothing Co. can both be reached through @thehummuspeople on Facebook and Instagram.