Farm takes a pause

Prominent Houston urban farm suspends customer-oriented operations

Loam Agronomics has suspended customer-facing operations.

Courtesy photo

One of Houston's most prominent urban farms has suspended customer-facing operations — including its popular CSA (community-supported agriculture) program. In a lengthy statement distributed to media and posted to the farm's website, Loam Agronomics founders Clayton Garrett and Scott Snodgrass explained the various reasons they made the decision to pause their work.

We’ve encountered issues of all types; some of the usual suspects (like cucumber beetles), some new challenges (like the Food Safety Modernization Act) and some threats that are unfortunately becoming all too common (like the three 500 year flood events in three years).

We’ve responded well to some of these and not so well to others. A CSA farm is a complex beast, and while we were prepared for many of these influences individually, we weren’t prepared for so many of them in our first few years. And we certainly weren’t prepared for the compounding effects they’ve had on our farm and community.

While this announcement is undeniably sad news for both the families who subscribed to the CSA and the various restaurants that purchased Loam's produce, the shut down is not intended to be permanent. Snodgrass tells CultureMap in an email that he expects the suspension will last from as little as three to as long as 18 months.

Suspending operations now allows the farm to cut expenses, especially labor; the owners also plan to add water, sewage, and electricity that would allow the farm to host visitors, Snodgrass adds. Many local farms supplement their income and build relationships with customers through periodic farm dinners; adding that infrastructure would allow Loam to host similar events.

"This pause will also allow us to work on improving our soil through the planting of cover crops, which increase organic material, diversify the biology on the farm and improve the structure of our soils," the letter states. "We’re sorry for where we’ve let you down as we take growing food for our community as a sacred task but we know this process is an important part of truly becoming a farm you (and the Houston community) can love!"

On a positive note, Chef Fest will continue. The popular food festival is put on a company that's affiliated with Loam, but it isn't affected by the decision. If necessary, the produce for the event will be sourced from other farms.

closings

reboot rejected

Family friendly Houston restaurant shutters after less than 6 months

Photo by Quy Tran

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A Houston restaurant group has abruptly pulled the plug on its Garden Oaks location. Jax on the Tracks has closed, owner Gr8 Plate Hospitality announced.

Opened in February, Jax on the Tracks evolved out of The Union Kitchen, Gr8 Plate’s globally-inspired, full service restaurant that had operated in the neighborhood for almost 10 years. At the time, owner Paul Miller thought Garden Oaks diners would appreciate a more family friendly, affordable concept that centered around classic American fare such as burgers, pizzas, and fajitas. Unfortunately, it didn’t catch on quickly enough.

Gr8 Plate provided CultureMap with the following statement:

After careful consideration, Jax on the Tracks on Ella Boulevard has made the difficult decision to close its doors. While the concept was recently introduced to the neighborhood, many challenges ultimately led to the decision to discontinue operations at this location.

We are incredibly grateful to our guests, team members, and the Garden Oaks community for the warm welcome and support. There are currently no plans for another concept in the space.

In a separate conversation, Miller tells CultureMap that the switch from The Union Kitchen to Jax on the Tracks was too abrupt. It created confusion with regulars who missed dishes they’d been ordering for years.

“The people who had never been to the Union Kitchen loved it. They had a great time,” Miller says. “The people who had been to the Union Kitchen and had an expectation for that kind of food — our hummus, steak night, different cuts of fish — were blasting us.”

With revenues flat or declining, Miller says he made the difficult decision to close rather than using revenues from his other locations to keep Jax on the Tracks open in hopes its fortunes improved. Thankfully, the company’s other restaurants — including The Union Kitchen locations in Kingwood, Memorial, and Cypress; Jax Grill locations on Shepherd Dr. and in Bellaire; and Italian restaurant Passerella in Cypress — all remain open.

“It’s a hell of a lot more fun opening restaurants than closing restaurants. I can tell you that for damn sure,” Miller says.