Jem’s Gardens: Good Company

Jem’s Gardens:Good Company

BY GENA GOLASLAURIE BONNEAU PHOTOS

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Pull upa seat atJem’sGardensand youwon’t bealone.

Bring your coworkers for a homemade lunch, your family for a freshly made waffle cone filled with a local scoop or two, or just come by yourself—you won’t stay that way for long. At Jem’s it’s common to share a picnic table or a seat around a fire pit with other patrons, who are really new friends you just haven’t met yet. Or, owners Ellen and Jordan Marouski will keep you company, chatting about your day through the window of their food stand. It won’t be long before you’re made to feel at home.

Home, at Jem’s Gardens, is a 24- by 14-foot former tobacco barn sitting on the site of the Marouski family’s 1880’s South Windsor homestead. Much of Ellen’s extended family still live in the area, and her roots to the community run deep. Jem’s Gardens started in the early 1990’s as a garden stand, where the vegetables, berries, herbs, and “you pick ‘em we dig ‘em” mums were grown on the plot where the food shack now stands - and in the roughly 3-acre plot across the street. Jem’s still operates their farm stand, adjacent to the food shack. “We do the basics,”

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homemade...

“Everything at Jem’s is homemade...”

says Ellen, referring to their own berries, herbs, and flowers grown at Jem’s. Other produce like apples, peaches, and corn come from friends’ farms. They sell honey harvested from their seven hives, but their regulars get first dibs. “You gotta take care of your own,” says Ellen.

After many years, the recent popularity of farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) began to affect the business, and the mother-daughter team looked for new ways to grow. Jordan, a small child when Jem’s Gardens first started, was now an adult and a partner in the business, able to help set its direction. In 2012 pair decided they would expand into food: to start, ice cream and homemade pies featuring Jem’s own berries.

For the food alone, Jem’s is a special place. They’re still scooping up hard ice cream from Avon’s J. Foster Ice Cream; Jem’s even boasts its very own flavor, Barnyard Brawl, chock full of M&M’s,

fresh ingredien “Jem’s uses fresh ingredien

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cookie dough, chocolate chips, and fudge swirl. And they still serve homemade pie with their own berries and a scratch-made crust. But it’s not just pie and ice cream anymore: Jem’s now serves a lunch menu of wraps and salads, offers popular smoothies and smoothie bowls, and features an impressive sundae list. Everything at Jem’s is homemade, down to the waffle cones, hot fudge and caramel sauce. At Jem’s you’re getting the real deal.

Real-deal food is a passion for Jordan, a selfproclaimed health nut who began cooking for herself to accommodate some dietary restrictions and support a healthier lifestyle. The food at Jem’s reflects this clean eating philosophy: they use fresh ingredients, many grown themselves; they don’t cook in any oils; and the flavors come from natural ingredients, not syrups. Even if it is pie and ice cream, you can feel good about the food you’re eating.

Come to Jem’s in the summer for Grammy B’s tea, a slightly sweetened lemon and mint iced tea. This is the season for it: “If the mint’s not growing, we’re not making it,” says Ellen. It’s Jordan’s great grandmother’s recipe, and so is the mint; what now grows on the grounds at Jem’s was transplanted from the side of Grammy B’s garage.

In the winter, come in for their popular Healing Soup. They make it nearly every other day, and the blend of turmeric, ginger, garlic, coconut milk, rice, and a homemade vegetable broth could just be the cure for what ails you. “If you have a cold, it makes you feel good,” says Jordan.

Jem’s menu changes with the season, but you can often find customer favorites like the JP Melt, with caramelized onions and peppers, turkey, American cheese, spinach, and tomato; Alex’s Manager Special smoothie bowl - a blend of strawberries, mango, pineapple and orange juice, topped with granola, whole and sliced fruit, and a honey drizzle; or the vegetarian Kristen Wrap, named after their mail lady - homemade

ts, many grown themselves.”

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“At Jem’s you’re getting the real

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deal.”

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“We can’t pay it forward m

red pepper hummus, Swiss cheese, caramelized onion, sautéed peppers, and spinach.

A sandwich named after the mail lady might sound unusual, but not once you get to know Ellen and Jordan. Beyond the incredible food, what makes Jem’s really remarkable is the community they’ve built with their business. “We’ve had a lot of great people in our life,” says Ellen. “Our customers are awesome.” Ellen and Jordan know most of their customers by name (“If Steve’s not here, we know something’s wrong, so we text to make sure he’s okay”), or by nickname (Ellen has been growing okra for the “Okra Lady” for the last

26 years), or by car (“We have so many regulars where, as soon as you see their car, their order is ready”).

Just like Jem’s has become a fixture in these customers’ lives, those customers are equally a part of Ellen and Jordan’s lives. One winter, they had a neighbor who had extra turkeys he couldn’t donate, so he gave them to Jem’s. Ellen and Jordan decided to make Gobblers - casseroles full of turkey, stuffing, cranberry chutney, roasted butternut squash and sage, and mashed potatoes - to donate to the housebound elderly in the community. When the community caught wind of what Ellen and Jordan were doing, they took up a

bu

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onetarily, t we can cook for them.”

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“...end your day around the fi with Ellen and Jordan

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donation towards the fixings to accompany the donated turkeys.

Another winter, Ellen stopped to help one of their customers, Denise, who was stranded in the snow on the side of the road. Months later, Denise gifted Ellen with an impeccable handmade Jem’s mosaic sign, now hanging above the counter at the food stand.

Special touches from their customers can be found all over Jem’s Gardens. The pavers for the front patio, the open sign, a patio furniture set, and a fire pit are all gifts from customers. One regular even helped them connect with the right person at the electric company when they were facing roadblocks trying to open the food stand. “People come into your life at a certain time,” says Ellen. “So many people helped us out when we were opening. We can’t pay it forward monetarily, but we can cook for them.”

Come to Jem’s and grab a seat next to a neighbor for breakfast or lunch, bring a grab-and-go dinner home to your family, pick up a pie to celebrate a special occasion with friends, or end your day around the fire pit with Ellen and Jordan in Jem’s Gardens’ backyard, among the twinkling lights strung across the lawn, with a scoop or two of Barnyard Bash. You’ll be in good company.

re pit re pit in Jem’s Gardens’ backyard...”

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“....with a scoop or two of Barn

Yo

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yard Bash. u’ll be in good company.”

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