Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Garosshen.
Wendy, can you briefly walk us through your story and how you got to where you are today?
My husband, Josh Wojcik and I opened Heirloom Food Company in December of 2012. Our purpose was three fold. We strived to provide our quiet corner community with healthy, organic food that burst with flavor and freshness, to go out of our way to support and promote local farmers, agriculture and artisans and to create an environment that both our customers and our employees would be drawn to and love coming into day after day.
People, including our parents, told us that our rural area would never be able to support a “hipster, organic and vegan restaurant” like ours and discouraged us from taking this risk, however, almost seven years later, we’re busier than ever and still after those same goals day in and day out. We’ve been lucky enough to be recognized by our community as a business doing positive things for our area and showcased by publications like Connecticut Magazine.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the struggles that we have faced is what many in small business can attest to, being a “jack of all trades”. When we opened, we had a beautiful 8-week old baby and maybe were a little naive about what having a business entailed. We were working 18 hour days, fixing equipment, running the daily operations of the cafe, doing payroll and taxes and paperwork at night while adjusting to our new role as parents.
Also, when we first opened people were very skeptical that organic food would actually taste good. Lots of people walked in to check us out only to turn up their noses and report that they didn’t eat health food. We really had to prove ourselves and show that our organic, fresh ingredients didn’t taste bad, in fact, once people had a taste they were hooked!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Heirloom Food Company – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Heirloom specializes in vegan and gluten-free alternatives. All of our homemade soups, baked goods, and smoothies are vegan and gluten-free and all our sandwiches can be made vegan and gluten-free upon request. Our Beta Burger, a beet, lentil and rice burger that we make ourselves wins over vegetarians, vegans and meat-eaters alike and we’ve been known to even win over local football coaches who claim to have never eaten a vegetarian meal before.
As a company, we are most proud of our commitment to quality that goes above any restaurant we’ve ever visited. The quality of the food we serve defines who we are. Our fruits and veggies are 100% grown using organic practices.* We source locally as much as possible working directly with local growers. Most of Heirloom’s other ingredients are organic as well. In fact, on any given day Heirloom ingredients are 85% to 90% organic.
Things you’ll never find at Heirloom include GMOs, preservatives, hydrogenated oils or artificial anything. We work hard to provide the most wholesome food possible.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Boston is where we go to see what is trending in the vegan community and in health food. It’s an hour drive from us and we are there checking out what other restaurants like Veggie Galaxy and The Friendly Toast are doing that is new and exciting and we take that and put our own spin on it at our little cafe. The food scene is Boston keeps us coming back over and over again.
Thank goodness for Uber because we aren’t fans of driving in Boston and being from a small town we’re horrible at it.
Contact Info:
- Address: 630 North Main Street, Danielson, CT 06239
- Website: eatheirloomfood.com
- Phone: 860 779 3373
- Email: eatheirloomfood@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heirloomfoodco/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeirloomFoodCompany/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/heirloomfoodco
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/heirloom-food-company-danielson
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
