Nov 15, 2017
We’re proud to announce the launch of our latest farm, underneath restaurant Atera in Tribeca. The farm grows rare herbs, edible flowers and microgreens for the best restaurants in New York, including a special relationship with 2-Michelin star rated Atera.
The new 1,200 square-foot farm uses hydroponics (growing plants in a water-based nutrient solution, instead of soil) and efficient new LED lights to grow rare produce in a controlled environment, year-round. Farm.One grows over 500 different products, including sour, tangy Wood Sorrel Flowers, spicy red Mizuna microgreens, and a nutty “Dragon’s Tongue” Arugula.
Executive Chef, Atera with Rob Laing, CEO, Farm.One. (Photo by Our Name is Farm)
This is our second farm in Manhattan, after our initial launch at the Institute of Culinary Education in April 2016. We grow produce completely pesticide-free, and deliver only to restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn, via bike and subway, eliminating food miles. Our proprietary software allows the team to manage hundreds of products and thousands of batches, all grown to order for chefs. The company’s packaging is reusable, minimizing waste.
Atera had a small farm underneath its restaurant in the past, but this new farm run by Farm.One is multiple times larger, capable of growing over 1,000lb of produce and serving up to 50 restaurant customers. Farm.One’s other customers include restaurants Daniel, Jungsik, Le Turtle, L’Appart, Butter, Uchu and many other Michelin-star rated restaurants.
Farming indoors in Manhattan allows us to deliver a huge range of rare produce for the most demanding chefs within a few hours of harvest, year-round. Our location eliminates waste and provides a fresher, better product. High-tech vertical farming doesn’t have to be about the same old leafy greens, it can be about excitement and delight.
Ronny Emborg, Executive Chef of Atera, says “In Denmark it was possible to step out the kitchen door and forage for beautiful ingredients. To have Farm.One in New York, just a few steps away from our kitchen gives us access to a huge range of rare ingredients, year-round. Stepping into the farm is happiness.”
Demand for clean, local food is soaring, and “Hyper-Local Sourcing” is the top trend for 2017 according to the National Restaurant Association. From data provided by the Organic Trade Association, sales of Organic produce are expected to grow 70% between 2016-2021. As a result, in 2017 alone, over $250 million has been invested in urban vertical farming startups, most of whom are focused on mass-market leafy greens for supermarket use.
But Farm.One is the only vertical farm business growing a large number of rare, premium ingredients. Our friend Henry Gordon-Smith, of vertical farming industry experts Agritecture.com says “Farm.One produces on-demand products for chefs that are rare, unique and consistent year-round, giving it a very interesting business case that helps it stand out from the rest of the competition in vertical farming”.
The new farm underneath Atera is a world first, and will be a model for us to build future farms in other US cities and around the world.