Modern retail expansion can widen market opportunities for local agrifood producers, but formal product requirements, supply continuity, and commercial arrangements may restrict their effective participation. This study examined how a short food supply chain (SFSC) could connect local agrifood producers and businesses with modern retail in Bone Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and what strategies are required to address standardization and supply-continuity constraints. An exploratory qualitative case study was conducted using purposive stakeholder sampling. The dataset comprised 12 unique participants representing local agrifood businesses, retailers, and government. Data were analyzed through an interactive qualitative process involving data condensation, stakeholder-based comparison, category development, and interpretive verification. Three interrelated findings emerged. First, retail access depended on producers’ ability to meet administrative, certification, and packaging requirements, revealing a gap between formal standards and producer capacity. Second, stable supply expectations and delayed payment arrangements were difficult to reconcile with seasonality, limited production technology, and constrained working capital. Third, participants generally favored reducing unnecessary intermediaries while retaining selective aggregation functions through cooperatives, aggregators, or local hubs. The findings suggest that an effective SFSC in this context requires institutional translation, operational alignment, and selective coordination rather than complete disintermediation.