First to bat this week is a big welcome to Silver Leaf Farms to the party. I have known Aaron and Elan for many years and am/have been really impressed with how they have scaled their Corrales farm in a very thoughtful and professional way.
They have pretty much perfected growing butter lettuce and I am happy to have them on board and sup-porting their continued growth. We will see other offerings coming up later this season, but to kick things off, look for their butter lettuce in all Harvest Boxes this week.
Continuation from our last newsletter. As I mentioned, we bought the old Zacatecas restaurant in Nob Hill. And after receiving several emails telling me that I have fallen off the turnip truck, I want to flesh this vision out a bit.
As we have been building out our fresh market concept, The Stand, a crazy thing happened; the space became too small for what we were envisioning. Chef Jules and his team have really shown the demand for high quality, local, convenient, and healthy “fast-food.”
Our lives are very busy, hectic, and at times a bit chaotic. And what we have seen is that healthy food choices are usually sacrificed in the face of convenience. Furthermore, there are Zero fast-food options that support local producers. None.
Our goal/mission is to change this unnecessary paradigm. There is no reason why fast-food cannot be Healthy, Tasty, and Local. But as you can imagine, changing how people eat is not an easy task. But as my Viking dad always says, “If the challenge is easy, the Swedes would have already figured it out.” So let me share with you this 2.0 version of this goal.
By adding a large commercial kitchen, we will not need The Stand to have a huge kitchen footprint. That market will be able to focus on being a true farm stand. It will have Daily Pickups of SKRS orders. It will have a fresh bakery. Healthy deli offerings from soups, salads, sandwiches, and of course our state breakfast, The Burrito. Organic fresh juice bar. Tons of produce. A Meat case to highlight all our awesome Local ranchers. And eventually a wine bar as we take advantage of the new liquor laws that just passed the state.
All in all, it will be a market that gives our community a place to meet, eat, and connect with our local food system. We should have this open in the next month.
That leaves us with an amazing restaurant and kitchen space. So I would like to introduce you to our newest concept, Carbón by Skarsgard Farms. Carbón in Spanish simply means Charcoal. And as I flip through my memories, the favorite flavors throughout my life have been cooked on coals. No fancy ovens, just heat paired with smoke. So Carbón is a space that will pay homage to foods cooked on coals. This will be an in-credible experience for omnivores and vegetarians alike.
Have a tasty weekend, Farmer Monte