Restaurant Kitchen Gardeners

Ask any restaurant owner about rising food costs, and you’ll wish you brought up politics instead. Higher energy prices have made the business of delivering food more expensive, and these costs are often passed from food vendors to restaurants like the bread basket at dinner time. This economic factor, plus a growing awareness and appreciation for locally produced organic food, can take much of the credit for the handful of new specialty farms that are thriving like just outside the city of Charlotte. Then there are those restaurant owners and chefs that make the trip from Farm to Fork really short, and grow their own organic produce. “Every little bit helps”, says Rob Nixon, owner of Jackalope Jack’s restaurant, as he tends young heirloom tomato plants in his 4’ by 8’ organic vegetable garden. “What we grow out here will complement what we buy from vendors, and more importantly, remind customers of our commitment to serving good food.” Over at the Krazy Fish Restaurant in Plaza Midwood, a small farm of tomatoes, peppers, beans thrives in a sunny patch of land sandwiched between the restaurant and Central Avenue.“We’ll create lunch and dinner specials around the vegetables we harvest”, says owner KC Terry. “This is a great spot for a  garden,” he adds, surveying neat rows of handmade bamboo tomato cages. “It gets a lot of sun, and we’ll be able to grow produce out here year round.”