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USA - (COLORADO) Rooftop Greenhouse Sets Arvada Restaurant Apart
When residents Jaime Miles and Josh Timon opened their first restaurant, the plan was to source their produce as locally as possible — right from the rooftop
At Lot One, Produce Is “As Fresh As It Gets”
July 13, 2020
Casey Van Divier
cvandivier@coloradocommunitymedia.com
When residents Jaime Miles and Josh Timon opened their first restaurant, the plan was to source their produce as locally as possible — right from the rooftop.
On restaurant Lot One's opening day, July 9, 2019, the restaurant's so-called “Roof to Table” operation — growing produce for the restaurant in a greenhouse rooftop — was just a concept. The business-owners had yet to build the greenhouse on top of the building, begin the growing process and find a way to keep their business open during a then-unforeseen pandemic.
But on July 9, 2020, Roof to Table wasn't just a plan anymore; on the restaurant's first anniversary, Timon found himself giving a tour of the rooftop greenhouse to four customers, explaining everything from climate-controlling the greenhouse to sourcing unconventional herbs and greens.
“People want to know where their food is coming from,” he said. “At Lot One, we produce a fresher product. It doesn't sit in a warehouse.”
And he added that the greenhouse is about more than how Lot One's food tastes — it is the restaurant's story.
Located at 13730 W. 85th Dr., Lot One boasts of popular sandwiches, a flavor profile drawing from across the globe, and its Roof to Table efforts.
As of July 9, the greenhouse was not yet at full capacity, Timon said, with the business-owners planning to further fill the greenhouse and expand growing efforts to other parts of the roof.
Timon estimated the plants grown in the greenhouse — which includes a long list of vegetables and herbs, from cherry tomatoes to lettuce to Swiss chard — accounts for about 20-25% of the produce used in Lot One's dishes and some of its cocktails. Eventually, the business owners hope to grow enough produce to donate to community organizations, as well.
The greenhouse operates year-round, with the types of ingredients available to the kitchen rotating throughout the months, said executive chef Ray Clinton.
“It's fun because we get to play with a lot of things you don't normally see,” Clinton said. “With the food trends now, people are getting away from mass-produced food, and this is as fresh as it gets.”
For Arvada residents Lyle and Beth Williams, “the food is what brings you back” to Lot One, Lyle said. But it's many components of the restaurant that have made it a favorite spot for the couple, with both the restaurant's ambiance and greenhouse included on that list.
The couple toured the greenhouse on July 9 with Les and Keri Williams, family members visiting from Tennessee.
“The idea of fresh from the roof, that's an appeal to everyone,” Les said. “And the business's philosophy of wanting to give back to the community is heartwarming.”
This summer, despite health regulations related to the pandemic, the restaurant is now able to operate at 100% of its usual capacity after working with the city and the nearby homeowners' association, Village of Five Parks Master HOA, to set up a tent and other outdoor seating right outside its space.
And it's a good thing, too, Timon said — because even as the pandemic continues, the restaurant has needed all the seating it can get.
“Last night, it was packed here,” he said. “The Arvada community has truly supported us. We were able to survive because of them.”
IF YOU GO
WHERE: 13730 W. 85th Drive
PHONE: (720) 949-0808
WEBSITE: eatatlotone.com
Keywords
Lot One, rooftop greenhouse, Josh Timon, Casey Van Divier, Arvada Colorado
Vertical Mini-Farm At Whole Foods Market In Manhattan West
With a mission to surprise and delight with fresh, local, specialty ingredients grown in city centers, Farm.One’s mini-farm represents a major shift in urban food production and supply chains
Farm.One, a Manhattan vertical farm, launched its latest mini-farm at the newly opened Whole Foods Market Manhattan West. Farm.One custom-designed the farm for the Manhattan West store and maintains the on-site mini-farm to supply the in-store prepared food and beverages with freshly grown and harvested Blue Spice Basil. The basil is used as an ingredient for a variety of delicious menu items, including freshly made pizza and the Whole Foods Mule, a specialty cocktail.
With a mission to surprise and delight with fresh, local, specialty ingredients grown in city centers, Farm.One’s mini-farm represents a major shift in urban food production and supply chains. With mini-farms, businesses have continual access to the highest quality, most flavorful and consistent professional-grade ingredients. Further, the distance between production and consumption is now mere footsteps, eliminating any carbon emissions associated with delivery of the produce.
“Every kitchen knows the difference that freshness and quality of ingredients can make to the food they serve,” said Rob Laing, founder, and CEO of Farm.One. “When we started in 2016, it wasn’t financially feasible to build and operate small farms profitably in cities like New York. We’ve now been able to decrease the cost of building a farm and have developed a model where a larger farm, like our TriBeCa flagship, can support small farms for grocery stores, restaurants and the hospitality industry all over the greater New York City area. This marks a real inflection point for what people can expect in their meals and the economy of urban food production.”
Farm.One’s mini-farm at Whole Foods Market Manhattan West takes up just thirty-two square feet and features a hundred and fifty plant sites on three growing levels. The hydroponic system was designed and built by Farm.One’s engineering and technology team to optimize crop productivity, minimize intrusiveness to the store experience, and require minimal maintenance. The facade of the mini-farm was customized to match the familiar brushed stainless steel aesthetic of Whole Foods Market. The mini-farm is capable of supplying at least 8 pounds of basil every month, including harvesting the fragrant basil flowers for use in the Whole Foods Mule.
“The first thing our customers notice when they enter the prepared food section of the store is the incredible fragrance of the basil,” said Chris Manca, local forager, Whole Foods Market Northeast Region. “As soon as our chefs, and even our mixologist, had access to the basil they were inspired to create menu items that highlight the freshness and flavor of Farm.One’s blue spice basil. This collaboration with Farm.One has really impacted the way we think about fresh ingredients in our kitchens and we can’t wait for customers to come by and experience it.”
Farm.One’s distributed agriculture model
Farm.One has taken a distributed approach to scaling indoor farming in cities, an alternative to the large, expensive warehouse farming models. By establishing a Farm.One flagship as a hub in a city, the company is able to centralize farming and business operations, engineering, training, and support, to build and maintain on-site ‘spoke’ farms throughout a city for its customers. This results in lower investment requirements, a faster path to profitability, and the flexibility to grow a diverse range of crops that meet a variety of customer needs.
Whole Foods' Manhattan West store includes an in-store mini-farm that provides freshly harvested Blue Spice Basil to be used in store-made food and beverage offerings.
“Our hub-and-spoke model of distributed agriculture proves that indoor agriculture doesn’t need tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to be viable and achieve scale,” added Laing. “Also, by putting farms in visible places around the city we’re ensuring openness and transparency never before achieved in the industry. Whether you visit a Farm.One flagship for a tour or class, when it’s safe to do so or experience a mini-farm in the middle of a grocery store, you’ll see and learn about how your food is grown.”
The company has plans to build flagships and mini-farms in major cities around the United States and globally over the next twenty-four months.
Farm costs are further reduced through its relationship with leading LED lighting company Fluence by OSRAM. The cost of lighting and electricity remains one of the highest cost centers for building and operating indoor farms. By collaborating with Fluence, Farm.One is leveraging innovative LED technology to ensure its growing environments are optimized by crop type and for operational efficiency.
“In a vertical farming environment, efficiency isn’t a perk, it is paramount to the farm’s success,” said David Cohen, CEO of Fluence. “Farm.One is tapping into the world’s most advanced cultivation technology to deliver beautiful, delectable plants in the heart of one of the busiest metropolitan areas in the world. Their ability to localize high-quality crop production illustrates how exploring the interaction between light and life will yield a healthier and more sustainable world.”
The mini-farm at Whole Foods Market Manhattan West adds to several mini-farms Farm.One has built out of its flagship farm in TriBeCa, including at OCTOBER, a restaurant in Nolita which features a 100% plant-based menu, Eataly NYC Flatiron, and at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), the site of Farm.One’s original prototype farm. Farm.One also maintains a farm at Project Farmhouse at Union Square.
For more information:
Farm.One
77 Worth Street, Floor 1,
New York, NY 10013
www.farm.one
Fluence
4129 Commercial Center Drive
Suite 450
Austin, TX 78744
512-212-4544
info@fluencebioengineering.com
www.fluence.science
Publication date: Thu 10 Sep 2020
VIDEO: Will This Y Combinator-Backed Startup’s Urban Home Farms Take Root In India?
UrbanKisaan leverages hydroponic technology for home growing kits, as well as a network of urban farms for online delivery and retail channels
Inc42 Staff
27 Aug'20
UrbanKisaan leverages hydroponic technology for home growing kits, as well as a network of urban farms for online delivery and retail channels
During the lockdown phase, the company claimed to have seen 10x growth in terms of demand for its fresh produce, compared to pre-Covid times.
Based in Hyderabad, UrbanKisaan has installed close to 30+ vertical farms and plans to expand to Bengaluru, Chennai among other cities
There’s a minor revolution underway in many of India’s biggest cities. We are talking about hydroponic farming and this soil-less method is fast becoming the answer to solving the problem of carbon footprint in food. Call it hydroponic farming, soilless farming, vertical farming or anything else — for many it is the long-awaited answer to responsible eating.
In this backdrop, agritech and hydroponics startups are quickly finding niches in various produce categories and cities. Despite their shared ethos for sustainable food production, the likes of UrbanKisaan, Barton Breeze, Hydrilla, Simply Fresh, Acqua Farms, Letcetra Agritech, BitMantis Innovations, Future Farms, Ela Sustainable Solutions, Agro2o, Junga FreshnGreen, Pindfresh are working in this field through different models and targeting different niches — from large-scale hydroponics farming in rural areas to small home farms for the cities.
Working on the philosophy of bringing farms closer to home is Hyderabad-based UrbanKisaan. With the vision of making hydroponic technology more affordable and accessible for the masses, UrbanKisaan offers home-grow kits or vertical hydroponic farms. And by creating mini-farms in cities and revitalizing farmlands with hydroponic technology, the startup also supplies fresh produce to customers through Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo, and other retail channels as well as in the D2C model on subscription and on-demand basis.
“We are the only startup in the hydroponic landscape to have taken a hybrid approach, where we have 20,000 sq. ft. research and development facility, along with 15+ in-house scientists working on newer innovations and products,” claimed cofounder and CEO Vihari Kanukollu elaborating on how the company is looking to differentiate itself in the burgeoning hydroponic market.
However, UrbanKisaan is not alone in the game, Simply Fresh, another Hyderabad based agritech startup, also grows and supplies a line of medicinal plants and fresh produce from its greenhouses. Similarly, Chennai-based Future Farms works on hydroponic technology at a commercial level, where it designs integrated full-stack solutions for alternative farming in the country. The vibrancy of the hydroponic models and the large ground area that needs to be covered across cities and villages has made it possible for multiple startups to thrive in this space.
Needless to say, the market opportunity is huge, as ‘urban farming’ is catching up at a rapid pace globally. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global hydroponics market is expected to reach $16.6 Bn by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 11.9% from $9.5 Bn in 2020. The growth of the sector is said to be driven by the increase in population and the need for food security through alternative high-yield farming techniques, given the depletion of water across the globe.
Plus, the rise in awareness and demand for a healthier lifestyle is said to have opened doors for a plethora of possibilities for hydroponic startups to reap the benefits in the long run.
UrbanKisaan earns revenue from its multiple channels which allow it to reach all kinds of consumers — from those who want a taste of the hydroponic produce to those who want to grow it themselves. Its urban farms are strategically located next to retail stores to facilitate hyperlocal deliveries and its DIY home kits are for the latter set. Additionally, it is also supplying its technology to local farmers to reutilise farmland.
The startup was founded in 2017 by Kanukollu, Srinivas Chaganti, Dr Hari, Shiva Prasad and Dr Sai Ram, a scientist who has been instrumental in developing the nutrient solution for their state-of-the-art vertical farming technique. In March 2020, the company also raised $1.5 Mn in seed funding from Y Combinator.
Home Farming In The Times Of Covid
During the lockdown phase, the company claimed to have witnessed 10x growth in terms of demand for its fresh produce, compared to pre-Covid levels. Further, cofounder Kanukollu said that the disruption in the supply chain and consumers leveraging on the hyperlocal delivery modes, along with the change in consumer lifestyle, for the consumption of fresh, organic produce has resulted in the surge in demand.
The Covid-19 pandemic temporarily halted the movement of produce across India and highlighted the gap in the food supply chain. This allowed agritech startups such as UrbanKisaan that specialise in hydroponic farming to tap a tremendous opportunity and bring efficiency in the supply chain.
With its hyperlocal urban farms model, Kanukollu claimed UrbanKisaan is not only bringing transparency to the vegetable supply chain but also lowering the carbon footprint, reducing food waste. Most importantly, their farming technique also claimed to save 95% water, and grow the produce 30x compared to traditional farms.
Its home kits are priced anywhere between INR 9,900 and INR 19,900 with about 50+ varieties of leafy vegetables and exotic vegetables supported by these kits, including spinach, coriander, mint, basil, bok choy, lettuce, parsley, fenugreek, capsicum, tomato and kale among others.
Further, the company claimed to have semi-automated the entire process and has designed the kits in such a way that it requires limited resources to manage it. “Once installed, it requires 15 min/week of effort to take care of the plants, thereby making it seamless for consumers to grow their own fresh produce,” said Kanukollu.
A Tech Upgrade For Rural Farmers
In addition to this, UrbanKisaan also works with local farmers who own greenhouses, where it helps them in setting up vertical farms from scratch to producing and supplying fresh fruits and vegetables.
Cost-wise, the poly house or greenhouse setup would typically cost farmers anywhere between INR 35 to INR 50 Lakhs per acre, of which, the government may subsidise up to 80%. Once this is installed, which is a fixed cost, for setting up of hydroponic setup, it would cost the farmer additionally INR 50 Lakhs. But, UrbanKisaan told Inc42 that it looks to reduce this cost at INR 15 to INR 20 Lakhs.
UrbanKisaan claims to have installed close to 30+ hydroponics farms in the state, across its various offerings. In the coming days, it plans to expand into other cities, including Bengaluru, Chennai among others, along with growing its team, adding newer varieties of hydroponic seeds, fruits and vegetables, and enhancing its technology capabilities.
Kanukollu is looking at creating a centralised monitoring system through UrbanKisaan for these various hubs and farms. “We are heavily investing in artificial and machine learning tools, where once the network of the urban farm increases, we will be able to monitor and control their farms remotely and provide a real-time update to customers.”
