How A Farm Created A Thriving Urban Farm-To-Table Business

Farm Dinner hosted at Tangletown Gardens farmTangletown Gardens’ owners have a mission to introduce its community to farm-fresh plants, produce and food. Sticking to that mission has made the business a powerful ambassador for farm-to-table living, even in the heart of urban Minneapolis.

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It all began when owners Scott Endres and Dean Engelmann opened a garden store 13 years ago in South Minneapolis. The partners decided to grow plants and produce for the store on the Engelmann family farm, a fourth-generation farm. Very quickly, the two saw they could do much more with the farm than simply supply their garden store. So they decided to grow produce for a farmers’ market, then a Community Sponsored Agriculture program (CSA), which has hundreds of people participating.

That close tie to food, in turn, spurred the two to open a restaurant, Wise Acre Eatery, located across the street from the garden center.

Along the way, Tangletown attracted a passionate following in Minneapolis, people who promote the business to their friends and family, and who repay Tangletown’s community efforts by buying enough food, produce and plants to make the business highly profitable.

Here’s a quick rundown on each element of Tangletown’s businesses.

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The Farm

Endres and Engelmann lease about 100 acres on Engelmann’s parents’ farm, a fourth-generation property.

At first, the farm and the production facility supported only the garden store. Since it was on a small city lot, they used the farm as a warehouse. “We wanted to take advantage of truckload pricing on pottery and plants,” Endres says. “We planned to grow only a handful of things.”

Today, the farm grows a wide variety of vegetables and herbs and also raises livestock to supply meat for Wise Acre Eatery. It uses green production methods and has increased the amount grown each year, enough to supply all the various divisions (the CSA, the farmers’ market, the restaurant and the garden store).

As for ornamental plants, the two men replaced a single hoop house with a full acre of greenhouses, where all of Tangetown’s herbaceous materials are produced, along with some woody plant stock.

The farm has also become a major marketing tool and is not only used in advertising, but also hosts public events throughout the year. “People like to see what we’re doing,” Endres says.

The Farmers’ Market

The economic downturn in 2008 became a surprising opportunity for Tangletown.

“The frightful thing called the recession happened, and that first October, we said, ‘Oh, boy, how will we get through this?’ We were offering these luxury items to people who could afford it. We tried to be sensitive to offer price points everyone can enjoy, but at the same time, we were considered a luxury place, and we knew that wouldn’t fly during the recession. We had always considered offering a farmer’s market. Whatever brings a customer in again and again is key to us,” Endres says.

Fresh Market launched the first spring after the recession hit, in 2009. “The neighborhood loved and embraced it and came in every week,” Endres says.

Customers came for the produce, but also bought other things. “The average ticket sales were lower than typical, but we also noticed the same customer would come back more often,” Endres says. “That same customer was spending the same or more.”

The buy-local trend took hold in Minneapolis during the recession. “People were starting to be mindful of where they were spending their money. They had the same disposable income, but they felt guilty about spending. One way to encourage them was to show we are strong advocates of the community we’re serving. We’re local, grow things sustainably and are small enough to have a personality, a reflection of who we are as people. All those things truly worked to our advantage during that time.”

The Restaurant

In 2011, Endres and Engelmann bought a small property across the street from the garden center. The partners had been eyeing the property for years, not sure how they would use it. “It was a really wonderful opportunity to do something good for the neighborhood and something complementary for the business,” Endres says.

Yet he and Engelmann did not want it to feel like they were taking over the area. “For us, in our little pocket in South Minneapolis, we wanted to feel like we fit in to the neighborhood, and scale is important for that. So we decided we didn’t want that location to be a direct expansion of our garden center business. It should be a complementary business.”

And since the two men were producing a lot of sustainably grown food, they decided to open a restaurant, Wise Acre Eatery.

“We wanted it to feel like a family member, the big sister garden center and the new baby. The baby would grow up to be different from the sister, but you can tell they had the same parents.”

The two businesses cross-promote. “A lot of the décor can be bought at the garden center. The garden center guests often discover the restaurant. It’s classic cross marketing. It brings people to the corner more than one time a year,” Endres says.

Tangletown Gardens farm picnicBringing Farm Life To Urbanites

With a farm, a restaurant staff and the garden center, Endres and Engelmann have had great success holding events at the farm.

“People want to know where the food and plants they’re buying come from,” Endres says. “It’s a fantastic way to show them we do grow things ourselves, and that you can feel good buying from us because we grow them in a way you will feel good about putting in your home and on your table. They’re wowed by it.”

The farm events cater to different audiences. At the higher price point, they host a farm dinner for $175 per ticket. Then, as a thank you to the community, they also host a family day at the farm where lunch costs a suggested $10 for kids and $15 for adults (but payment is optional). The hayrides and tours, however, are free.

“When urban kids pull carrots out of the ground, they think it’s magical. It’s awesome for them,” Endres says.

The Garden Center

The partners chose a small lot for the garden center that “speaks to the busy consumer who could step out of the hustle and bustle of their lives,” Endres says.

“Because of the small space we have, we’re constantly editing the product we have to make sure it’s refined enough, so our customer knows we’ve already used an editing eye in buying our products.”

 Giving Back

Endres and Engelmann have also used their businesses to host fundraising events for various causes, from funding AIDS treatment in Africa and hospices locally to disaster assistance to educational events for families.

For example, after a tornado went through North Minneapolis, Tangletown hosted a fundraiser for the Minneapolis Park Foundation to plant trees to reforest the urban area. The event raised $75,000.

Endres sees these charitable efforts as a win-win. Tangletown and Wise Acre Eatery gain positive publicity and the community receives needed aid. “Even if people don’t attend, they’ll see the posts on Facebook and in our eBlasts or posters,” Endres says.

The partners have an almost radical approach to giving. “It’s important to us to give to everyone who asks for something,” Endres says. “There are so many good causes, and if a customer feels strongly about it, we are going to give at least a silent auction package to that cause.”

But there are certain causes they feel are especially important to their customers, including an annual art and garden tour, horticultural scholarships, a Russian art museum garden located only a block away and sponsoring gardens in downtown medians.

“It’s pretty wonderful. Everyone can pay $20 to $30 and feel like they are helping the community. Not everyone can donate $1 million to a cause.”

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