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Berryville’s Homespun Is All About “Down on the Farm”
Berryville’s Homespun Is All About “Down on the Farm”
By Linda Roberts
A mother and two boys were enjoying chocolate shakes at Homespun at 20 West Main Street in downtown Berryville on a recent chilly day. Behind the counter, Manny De La Rosa was generous with the spirals of whipped cream that topped off the shakes.
“How’s that?” he said, flashing a broad smile.
Chef Manny De La Rosa shows Homespun’s locally sourced meats.
Photo by Linda Roberts
The newly opened Homespun is a farm-to-table spin off of Berryville’s Smith Meadows Farm. It’s been in the Pritchard family for more than 200 years, and is considered one of the country’s oldest 100 percent grass-finished livestock farms. Smith Meadows’ Forrest Pritchard and De La Rosa opened the deli, ice cream and farm store late last year and have been welcoming hungry guests every since.
Paneled with barn boards and wood-topped tables, Homespun offers diners a “down on the farm” feel when they come in to try the Main Street Hot Dog, Double Dog Dare, Smith Meadows’ chili or bacon, organic coffee, craft beers or a seasonal Kombucha.
The meat is sourced from Smith Meadows’ grass-fed beef, lamb, and pastured pork and the eggs from free-range hens quartered at the farm. If you’re interested in an ice cream sandwich or brownie sundae, the ice cream comes from a local creamery and the delectable desserts from the Sweet Elephant bakery across the street. The cuts of meat in orderly rows in the freezer cases are a direct result of Smith Meadows Farm’s sustainable farming practices.
“Everything we do is with a passion, if you do that you can’t lose,” said De La Rosa.
A longtime chef, De La Rosa had a hankering to join in the sustainable agriculture movement and was looking for a way to make that happen. Simultaneously he answered an ad that Pritchard published seeking someone for the Smith Meadows farm team that operates a booth at six farmers’ markets on Saturdays and Sundays in the Washington area.
Photo by Linda RobertsChef Manny De La Rosa shows Homespun’s locally sourced meats.
Gesturing around the deli, De La Rosa said, “you know, it’s not like this just happened, we’ve invested a lot into it.” He spent a year at Smith Meadows, taking care of the animals, doing farm work and whatever came his way. “You name it, I did it.”
Meanwhile De La Rosa and Pritchard were planning to create Homespun in a long-vacant storefront in downtown Berryville.
Pritchard wants to expand the business and De La Rosa is right there with him. “We’re looking at Phase II,” he added, the better to bring farm-raised hamburgers to the table at Homespun. De La Rosa noted that the burgers won’t be just any meat because he can “take you to the farm where these were raised.” Another plan is to create outdoor seating in the alleyway between the deli and the Thai restaurant next door.
Ask De La Rosa about his plans for mushrooms and the chef in him gets excited. Pritchard, he said, “wants to evolve the business” and growing Homespun’s own mushrooms to be used in preparation of menu items is another step.
“Transparency, wholesomeness, passion and community —that’s what people are investing in,” said De La Rosa, adding that there’s no substitute for experience and that sometimes it (experience) can’t be explained.
“You need to come here and see it for yourself,” he said.
For additional information and to view the menu: www.homespunberryville.com. To learn more about Smith Meadows farm, visit: www.SmithMeadows.com.
