Kenter Canyon Farms – Featured Farmer

To get the right flavors in a great sandwich you need to start with the freshest and best ingredients, from the highest quality proteins all the way down to the last little leafy piece of greens.  If you’ve ever wondered what you’re getting when you order something with “Organic Farmer’s Market Greens” on our menu, you should be happy to know that you’re getting just that – the freshest, highest quality, locally grown produce you can find.  We would love to share with you about the great farmers who produce the beautiful lettuces we receive fresh every day from Kenter Canyon Farms.

Owned and operated by Andrea Crawford and husband Robert Dedlow, Kenter Canyon farms now harvests over 80,000 pounds of produce per year from its three locations in El Centro, a winter farm in Baja California, and Fillmore.  Andrea’s talent for growing fine produce stretches back to her love for gardening growing up in Kentucky, and became more serious while waiting tables at Chez Panisse in the Bay Area.  During her time in San Francisco, the kitchen crew of the restaurant would regularly borrow from her backyard garden.  Quickly her gardening hobby became full time employment, and she began selling lettuces to Chez Panisse.

In 1985, Andrea moved to Southern California and started Kenter Canyon Farms, utilizing the biointensive method of farming, an organic farming technique focused on getting as much from a small amount of land as possible, while improving the earth.  Today, Kenter Canyon Farms grows a large variety of plants, mostly herbs and lettuces, and is committed to staying local – once harvested, produce arrives to Downtown LA distributors within 24 hours.

Working with our distributor and Kentery Canyon Farms we have developed a custom blend of certified organic greens called “Mendocino Mix”, which includes green romaine, green tango, mizuna, lollo rosa, triple red, red oak, and purple Osaka mustard – all grown on their ranch in Ventura.  So every time you’re chewing on those greens, eat well and enjoy knowing you are getting the best, and at the same time, promoting small sustainable, local farming!