Acres is the Place to Be

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Full website coming soon for all things Bean Acre's

When The Squeaky Bean opened in 2009, we wanted locally sourced produce. What’s more local than your own backyard?! Working with our neighbors, we built six sizeable, raised beds on open lots near the restaurant. Dubbed The Squeaky Beds, this irrigated urban farm produced much of the greens for the original Squeaky Bean. As we expanded and eventually transplanted the restaurant, we needed more space, and Bean Acre was born in 2011.

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The acre grew, so we added an “s.”  Now called simply "Acres," the farm spans three acres with two 6,000-square-foot year-round greenhouses in Lakewood at Warren Tech High School. Managed by The Squeaky Bean co-owner Joshua Olsen (The Bean Thumb), the organic farm grows a majority of the ingredients you’ll find on the menu, both in the fields and in the greenhouses. And we’re happy to say The Squeaky Beds are still squeakin’, growing a bounty of herbs used by both the kitchen and bar staff. 

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Executive Chef Darren Pusateri and his kitchen crew work closely with the Acres team, combining agricultural acumen and culinary creativity to bring innovation to your plate, every glorious season of the year.

 

 

Coming Soon to a Plate in Front of You

 

 

A sample of what we’re seeding, growing and serving in 2017:

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Heirloom tomatoes, sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes, micro greens, European and Asian eggplant, sweet roots, crisp greens, wintered spinach, purple tomatillos, southern okra, Oaxaca green grits, vibrant winter squash, Colorado summers' squash, hot radishes, delicate raspberries, fragrant herbs, and, lest we forget, onions and garlic.

 

 

Oh, And We’re Growing Human Beans Too

 

 

As operations at Acres have expanded, we’ve been fortunate to help educate students about the journey from the soil to the plate. Our multi-faceted education program educates S2TEM (Science, Sustainability, Technology, Education and Math,) culinary and JTS (Jeffco Transition Services) students, along with Executive Interns from Evergreen High School.This ever-expanding curriculum includes lessons on: Soil Composition, Seeding, Up-planting, Fruit/Vegetable and Plant Identification, Insect Identification, Sustainable Irrigation Practices, Sustainable Energy, Transplanting, Season Extension, Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Biodynamic and Organic AG Practices, Market Farming, Restaurant Farming, Propagation, Vegetable Storage and Vegetable/Fruit Preservation.

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Olsen has many big plans for Acres for 2017.  Beginning in January, he will begin to expand the farm by adding at least another ¾ of an acre of farmland, focusing on providing produce popular with local chefs.  Much of the crops will be used in a Jeffco pilot program through Jeffco Food and Nutrition Services’ Executive Chef Yuri Sanow.

 

Also in January, Assistant Farmer Dave Malteris will be teaching “Greenhouse Management” at Metro State University, as part of their Urban Agriculture program.  In May, Malteris and Olsen will both be teaching the students Urban Ag.

 

Also soon at Acres, Malteris and Olsen will be seeding and growing all of the starts for Sprout City Farms, a non-profit that cultivates educational urban farms that engage and strengthen communities.

 

“We’ve been carefully cultivating the soil at Acres for almost three years, and it’s really rich and healthy now,” said Olsen.  “We can’t wait to see the produce this soil can produce… and the lives we can enrich as well.”

 

Hop on the Tractor and Tour the Farm