Posts Tagged ‘Local Foods Restaurant’

Reinventing restaurants (and rural communities)

January 13th, 2010

There’s no doubt that good restaurants are important to rural communities.  They make rural communities more attractive places to live.  They often serve as “informal meeting places where community is built” (e.g., third places).  And they often improve the local economy by giving people a place to spend their money locally. 

My guess is that Reuben Wentz must appreciate the importance of a good restaurant.  The 93-year-old retired farmer recently gave $500,000 to his hometown of Napoleon, North Dakota (pop. 857) to create a new community-owned restaurant.   

The restaurant replaces the old, deteriorating building that housed the community’s previous community-owned restaurant.  It sounds like they’ve got a good thing going with the restaurant.  Its features include:

It’s also home to the Logan County Economic Development Offices, which set up the foundation that manages the restaurant.  I bet many of Napoleon’s neighboring communities are envious.

It’s important to attract people

It sounds like the community is excited about the restaurant.  The Bismarck Tribune quotes foundation board member Jennifer Schumacher:

“It was such a moment of joy. I thought – I think we all thought – this is such a turning point for Napoleon,” she said. Without much debt to service, the new venture should succeed, she said.

“We have a new drug store, young people are moving in and wind towers are going up. With such a beautiful restaurant here in Napoleon, we can do it,” Schumacher said. (source: Lauren Donovan, “Napoleon benefactor builds restaurant for community” Bismark Tribune, 12-2-09) 

That’s economic development

Any community seeking to attract young people (Gen Y) has to evaluate the availability of local food services.  It’s something they look for when choosing a community to call home. 

With this in mind, I’ve been thinking about how the Napoleon might leverage this restaurant effort for further economic development.  Two thoughts have emerged:

First, what can be done to foster a true “third place” atmosphere, making it a place where people of all ages and backgrounds meet for conversation?  We know that conversation between people of varying backgrounds in third places can lead to greater community trust (e.g. bridging social capital).  But third places don’t magically emerge.  They take thoughtful consideration and effort.

Second, could the community-owned restaurant be leveraged to create a local foods initiative?  Perhaps, they could make a commitment to buying locally raised foods.  The kitchen could also be a “shared use kitchen” that helps entrepreneurs develop new food products. 

Both of those ideas will take more effort and possibly more financial capital.  They may or may not be right for Napoleon.  But rural communities need to think like this to maximize their economic development efforts. 

Small towns also need people like Reuben Wentz who are willing to invest in their community’s future. 

Note:  Thanks to John Crabtree of the Center for Rural Affairs for making me aware of this story in their January newsletter.   Readers may also be interested in past ReImagine Rural stories about community owned grocery stores. 

Photo Credit:  FreeWine – Flickr  

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Posted in Agriculture, Community Development, Economic Development, Gen Y, Rural | Comments (3)

Eating Local in Rural America

December 16th, 2009

In a post titled “Eating Local, Eating Rural,” Lisa R. Pruitt recently shared her experience of eating locally grown food in her home state of Arkansas. In doing so, she provides a little inspiration to small town entrepreneurs who have a green thumb and a little culinary expertise.   

Specifically, she highlights a “new-ish, upmarket-ish Fayetteville restaurant, The Greenhouse Grille,” that purchases food directly from farmers in the region around Fayetteville, AR. 

The Greenhouse Grille is an example of an urban restaurant that prepares foods grown in rural areas.  It’s also a great example of the rural-urban linkages that economic development professionals always talk about. 

Pruitt’s article, however, causes me to wonder:  Where are the rural restaurants selling foods grown in the region? I’m not aware of any in rural South Dakota. Are rural people willing to patronize restaurants with a local theme if it means they have to pay more for their meals?  Or is it just of a fanciful fad for upscale urbanites?

I’ve always looked at the locavore movement (like farmers markets and Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaigns) as an extension of a buy local mentality.  I think it’s also an excellent economic development strategy that focuses on poverty reduction.  At the same time, I realize some rural advocates see it as more of an urban thing that conflicts with a rural lifestyle. 

I, for one, would much prefer to support restaurants like The Greenhouse Grille that are found in rural settings.  Hopefully, bloggers like Pruitt will inspire more entrepreneurs to take up the challenge. 

 

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Posted in Agriculture, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)