Sep 10

Sep 10 Vegetables and homestyle meals at Tuitti Fruitti Kitchen Market Farm

The Gwost family lives the farm-to-table model: Vegetables and fruits raised on their farmplace near Sauk Centre, MN is either sold at their own farm market or used in the home cooked meals they serve at the family’s Tuitti Fruitti Kitchen cafe.

What makes their business model particularly unique is where it’s all located - on the family’s farmsite just outside of town!

They didn’t intend to start a business…

When they moved to the country place 37 years ago, the Gwosts didn’t intend to have a restaurant and garden produce sales. It all just happened over time, said Marlene Gwost, who co-owns the operation with her husband, Kevin.

The two were raising their family in the Twin Cities (the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN metro area) when they decided to move to the country to raise their family. It was Marlene’s father, Lawrence Gettel, who told them of a dairy farm that was ‘going on the market’ near Sauk Centre. The Gwosts made the trip to see it.

A ‘For Sale’ sign wasn’t even in the yard yet, Marlene recalled, but that didn’t stop them from peaking in the house windows, walking the farmsite or looking at the farm’s outlying buildings. It immediately impressed them and the Gwosts made arrangements to purchase the 30-acre site. Kevin and Marlene took full-time jobs at Stearns County Social Services Department. It was a great place to work and raise a family.

Marlene was familiar with the area. She grew up on a dairy farm her parents, Lawrence and Vera Gettel, owned and operated near Sauk Centre.

It started with Grandpa’s vegetable garden…

“Dad was always a farmer,” Marlene said. “When he retired, he wanted something to do, so he started by growing things like onions and tomatoes.”

But he needed a place to sell his produce. They set up a table by the Gwost farmsite’s oak tree for the sales and soon people were stopping to purchase the garden fare.

His sales grew and, to better accomodate the produce and customer comfort, as well as Lawrence’s, they purchased a chicken brooder house at an auction sale. Once the building was moved to the farmsite, it was prepared for produce sales. He used it for five years, until the Gwosts built a garage where vegetable sales were made complete with a check out counter.

Today there’s plenty of fruits and produce for both vegetable sales and the restaurant, she said. There are two acres of strawberries in their u-pick/we-pick operation, plus 15 acres of vegetables. What isn’t grown on the garden plots is grown in one of three high tunnels. She’s pleased with the produce production in the high tunnels, especially the cucumbers which she said are “awesome” compared to growing outside.

All the produce , including tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, onions and kohlrabi, is attractively displayed, on shelves and refrigerated coolers, in a building near the cafe.

The start of Tuitti Fruitti Kitchen

When Marlene retired from her Stearns County position, she knew she’d be able to focus on the vegetable garden and its sales, but a question loomed: What would she do for a winter income?

“My mother always told me to open a bakery or restaurant,” Marlene said. So, she started a soup and sandwich shop - on the farm.

And, just like the vegetables, that business also grew. Additions to the original building has created the Tuitti Fruitti Kitchen which seats 115 customers. Soup and sandwiches continue to be part of the menu, but, like most of the Gwosts’ businesses, the food offerings also increased. Roast, ribs, fried chicken, salads, burgers and more are served six days a week. The foundation of the restaurant’s success is Grandma Vera Gettel’s recipes!

The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p..m. Monday through Friday and from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. With the early afternoon closing, Marlene can take the unsold produce and fruits plus additional harvested goods and process it. The preserved and stored vegetables and fruits are used throughout the year in the restaurant, she said.

For instance, the onions raised in the farm’s gardens last year, were stored and used throughout the winter and spring. There were only two months this year where she had to order onions from a food service, Marlene said.

She learned those skills from her mother, Marlene said. She recalls Vera harvesting the produce and canning, freezing or storing it for the family’s winter meals. Now it’s the base for the restaurant’s home cooked meals.

At the restaurant, the pot roast and meat loaf are all made according to Vera’s recipes, Marlene said. The specials vary according to the day of the week, but the items are good home style comfort foods including BBQ Ribs, seasoned and fried chicken, tater to hot dish, beaf roast dinner, meat balls and meat loaf, pork chops and roast beef commercials, Breakfast is served all day.

It truly is a family affair for the Gwosts. Kevin, who works for Stearns County Social Services, heads the outdoor work. Of their five children, three work with the farm and cafe. Daughter, Cheryl Messer, is head baker and waitresses. Son Larry is head cook and daughter Victoria works with the garden and outdoor work. Son Harold built the restaurant. Outside of family, there are eight employees who either work with the gardens or in the cafe.

For more information on Tuitti Fruitti Kitchen Market Farm, check the website www.tuittifruittimarketfarm.com