Something’s Happening Here

It has been an interesting spring here in Myrtle Beach. Of course, we are just settling down from the terrible wild fires that burned almost 20,000 acres. But food wise, it seems like momentum is growing in a way that I have not seen before.

I have been looking for six years to establish relationships with local farmers, cheese makers, and boutique food producers. I have found some great ones, Caw Caw Creek and Carolina Rice Plantation to name a few, but the produce never seemed to work out. Well, it appears that I will be buying a bunch of stuff from Mike James of Bennett, Cave, and James Organic Farms in Andrews, SC. We met a few weeks back and are on track to start buying produce next week. I even got to tell him some stuff that I wanted planted, very exciting!

Today I went out picking strawberries at Thompson Farms in Conway. They are on Bucksville Drive and this is the first year of U-Pick berries. I talked with Scott Thompson, the owner, and he explained that his grandparents farmed the land many years ago. He had to run off to plant tomatoes and peppers, but said he would be selling to locals, tourists, and restaurants as well.

Then I got to work and Mike Zemke, VP of DDG, told me about two gentlemen from a company called Green Stream that want to talk about picking up recyclables at the restaurants. I have been carting glass, plastic, and metals to the recycling center in my truck since we opened here, so I was especially excited to hear about that. The amount of recyclable waste that just one busy restaurant produces is astounding.

So, after years of looking and trying, it seems like the tide is turning for Myrtle Beach. We apparently will be able to have fresh local produce delivered to the restaurants this summer. We may soon be able to have all of our recyclable waste put back into the system. These are wonderful things and make me very hopeful.

Take care and eat something fresh and local today!