The Villages Grown Opens 1st Retail Store

The Villages Grown has opened its first retail store at the Brownwood town center. Residents will discover high-quality organic vegetables, microgreens, herbs, honey and other products in a country-store setting at 2666 W. Torch Lake Drive, said Ryan McCabe, The Villages operations manager. The unveiling of this new store is the next step in The Villages’ mission to create America’s healthiest hometown by providing locally grown produce that exceeds U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for organic products, he said. “The Villages thrives to provide our residents and community with opportunities to enjoy and enhance their lifestyles, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually,” McCabe said. “You see it on the squares at night, in the fitness centers, while volunteering or at social outings. Our goal always has been to provide the resources necessary for our residents to live a happier and healthier lifestyle. The Villages Grown is a new concept aimed at continuing that mission and created to provide Villagers easy access to the foods that will fuel their daily lifestyles.”

The store will feature a harvest from the crops growing in the portions of the greenhouses that already are operational, with more and more greenhouses coming online each month at the large farm at the southwest corner of Morse Boulevard and State Road 44, said Jennifer Waxman, executive director of The Villages Grown.

“Each day we are planting new seeds and expanding our greenhouses to be able to provide Villagers with more than 60 different varieties of vegetables, microgreens, herbs, lettuce and more,” she said. “Expect to find everything from microgreens to coffee beans, eggplant to honey, green beans to kombucha.”

The retail store also features a range of products produced by The Villages Grown Local Farm & Artisan Network throughout Central Florida, Waxman said.

“This country-style store not only will offer the most current selection of items grown in our facility, but will showcase many of the local farmers that the collective team has been working with for years,” Waxman said. “As our plants continue to flourish, you will see our offerings popping up in various restaurants, additional retail outlets and the medical community, including the hospital, across the entire community.”