"Two years ago, I was in Ashville, NC in line at the grocery store behind an 800 year old dirt farmer. I’m not going to say anything one way or another about his personality, I didn’t speak to the guy, but stereotypically these are not people that are easy to change. He had 16 cans of snuff on the conveyor belt, not even Copenhagen, just generic, in white letters, 'Snuff'. As he paid in cash, he pulled out a cloth shopping bag. The mentality of people in that area is very strongly localized. Keep this place what it is right now by supporting local businesses and local farmers. We don’t want to lose our farms and have subdivisions made. That was my light bulb moment. If someone can convince that guy to bring with him a cloth shopping bag, I can come back to Tampa and I can start changing peoples’ minds."
Chef Greg Baker of The Refinery sits back and recalls the first time he knew that making changes to the Tampa food culture was what he intended to do. Over a Stump Knocker Pale Ale brewed just 132 miles away, he sits relieved at the end of a Thursday night on the upper deck of his restaurant. On Thursdays, The Refinery launches a new menu to reflect what is fresh and coming in from local farms that week.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2011.