Adam Pollack was fresh off a summer internship at a North Carolina farm when he decided to try growing microgreens in his Logan Square apartment. Pollack was feeling depleted after working in restaurants, and he was eager to put his new farming skills to work. Plus, microgreens grow so quickly in small spaces, he knew he could yield a crop almost immediately.
A decade later, Pollack's microgreens, along with a colorful array of edible flowers, herbs, lettuces, tomatoes, vegetables and specialty greens, can be found in restaurants and homes across the city via his company, Closed Loop Farms. Every week, the farm makes more than 200 produce deliveries to some 150 restaurants as well as to 50 homes across Chicago. Closed Loop products can also be found at Agora Market, 2134 N. Western Ave. in Bucktown, and Wild Onion Market, 7007 N. Clark St. in Rogers Park.
"If you're going to a restaurant in Chicago and there are microgreens or flowers on your dishes, there's a pretty good chance they come from us," said Pollack.
The farm's edible flowers even had a cameo on "The Bear" Season 4, delicately adorning pastry chef Marcus' desserts. Closed Loop Farms operates from the sprawling 6,000-square-foot basement of The Plant, 1400 W. 46th St., a sustainable food business incubator located in what was once a meat product production plant in Back of the Yards.
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