St. Charles farm adds produce delivery to Lombard butcher shop
Lettuce, broccoli, sweet corn, carrots and other veggies galore will be invading downtown Lombard this summer — and not just at the farmers market.
Bob’s fresh & local, a St. Charles farm that allows suburbanites to buy shares in its yearly crop, is creating a new delivery location at Shannon’s Corner Butcher Shoppe in Lombard to add to existing sites in Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, North Aurora and Wheaton.
“I love the idea of farm-fresh produce,” said Theresa Brzezinski, the butcher shop’s general manager. “This is just making it even more convenient.”
Bob’s fresh & local operates on a model called community-supported agriculture, in which customers sign up for a share of a season’s produce and pay upfront, giving the farmer money for seeds, farm implements and land, said grower and owner Bob Vierow of Elmhurst. Each share also comes with weekly newsletters providing farm updates and recipes of meals to make with fresh vegetables.
“Every year, I try for more and more variety,” Vierow said. “I’ll throw some fruit in as a surprise.”
After starting his community-supported agriculture service in 2009 and completing his first growing season in 2010, Vierow said he’s still working to expand his business among suburban residents seeking organic, locally grown foods.
He reached out to Brzezinski because the butcher shop is right on his delivery route and he thought his produce would pair well with the store’s meats, deli salads and breads.
“I had some customers last year in Lombard,” Vierow said. “I figured it might be a good place to reach out.”
Brzezinski said she immediately saw the benefits of being able to offer fresh vegetables 20 weeks out of the year, creating a “one-stop shop” for healthy, local food.
“What we really liked is the thought of someone coming in to get their produce, and we obviously have the meat to offer,” she said.
As one of six pickup locations for Bob’s fresh & local — aside from the farm itself — Shannon’s will receive boxes of food for customers who have signed up for the produce delivery service. So far, eight people have expressed interest in buying a share of Vierow’s crop and having it delivered to the butcher shop.
Shannon’s is hoping between 10 and 20 people will have their produce delivered to the store each week, while Vierow said he will take a total of 100 customers at all delivery sites this year, up from 79 last year.
Hosting a produce pickup site as a way to draw customers worked well last year at Tannin’s Wine Bar and & Boutique in Elmhurst, said owner Jane Leonardo. About 20 people had their produce delivered to the wine shop last summer, and employees said some of them would buy beverages to pair with their greens.
“I believe in supporting anybody local,” Leonardo said, adding that offering produce “just ties together” with the vibe of her store.
Customers still can sign up for produce delivery, which costs $640 for 20 weeks, $580 for 18 weeks and $405 for 10 weeks, by downloading a form at bobsfreshandlocal.com.