News Leek: Meet our Local Leek Farmer
Bigger isn’t always better, but in the case of Muranaka Farms – the largest U.S. shipper of bunched leeks – we firmly believe we’ve found the best leek grower for all the dishes at Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes. As you get to know them, we think you’ll come to the same conclusion.
Muranaka Farms was established 50 years ago by Minoru and Matsue Muranaka after working as sharecroppers long enough they were able to purchase their own land. After passing the farm down to their children, their grandson, Greg Emi is now in charge. Three generations of knowledge and hard work has been put into perfecting the growing, harvesting and delivery process of Muranaka leeks and the efforts have paid off. Today, Greg prides himself and Muranaka Farms on securing all of the best, GMO-free leek seeds, hand-picking the leeks to reduce damage to the produce, and the expansion to different regions so produce can be delivered to our restaurants in a matter of hours!
Want to get to know Greg even more? If you’re in the San Diego region, you can meet us at the newly refreshed Kearny Mesa Souplantation on Saturday, November 15th for a meet and greet event featuring Greg, his leeks and, of course, all of our delicious November menu items. We also encourage all attendees to bring a canned good donation for the North County Food Bank. To thank you for your donation, our team will give you a free meal pass. If you have any questions you’d like to ask Greg, leave them in the comments below or on Facebook, and we’ll ask him for you!
