FREMONT, Ohio — While most growing businesses tend to get larger, there's one in Fremont going a different route and instead thinking smaller.
Joey Linder, owner of The Green Door, has always had a green thumb. After having his first child, he and his wife wanted to hone in on a healthier diet.
This led him to start growing and harvesting his own microgreens, not just for his family, but for other businesses that had to source their own microgreens outside of the immediate area.
"It's packed full, and you don't really need much to go a long way," Linder said. "You can take it and throw it into anything. From tacos, hamburgers and salads. And that nutrition, it's going to become a super food, no matter what you do.
"I noticed in the area a lot of health food stores, but nothing to sustain them. They're having to reach out, got to different counties or different cities. And I really wanted to stay local and bring it to Fremont."
In February, Linder opened his own microgreen business, The Green Door, offering a wide array of microgreens - grown in just days.
There you can find anything from basil to kale, arugula, beets, sunflowers and much more. And not only for local businesses, but for local patrons too.
CR Juices, just up the road on State Street, was one of The Green Door's first clients.
"Having it local [is great], especially right down the road from us," owner Christina Rodriguez said. "Not only do we get a fresher crop from him every single week, but when we want to do something special, we're able to kind of rotate our greens and mix it up in our menu."
Linder says the current agriculture industry model can't sustain everyone eating as healthy as they should.
And he believes smaller scale, local growing operations like his that directly serve their own community will become more common in the area and across the country.
"It's kind of crucial where we're going," Linder said. "So we need to make sure that we get above, get ahead of the game before we run out. Especially locally is where it's going to come from. You can't reach over to California anymore, we can't reach out to Georgia, we're coming to our neighbors which is what this is."
The Green Door in Fremont is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. They can also meet you by appointment.
"With him being local, he's educating the local community on just what the benefits are of microgreens," Rodriguez said. "So the more the education gets out there, I believe the more restaurants will be adapt it into their menu. I'm sure."
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