DULUTH — Kenwood Farms recently opened two stores in the Twin Ports, offering a variety of freeze-dried candy, canned goods, services and other items.
A business born from the desire to be self-employed, Charmaine and Douglas Grovenburg began selling produce at local farmers markets and various events, recruiting Bigfoot as their mascot. Store Fixtures Shelving
Hailing from Washburn, Wisconsin, Charmaine has been farming her entire life. In her childhood, her large extended family always had animals and a garden large enough to sustain the community.
"It wasn't just the backyard garden — it was seven fields. One had potatoes, one had berries, one had the fruits and vegetables," Charmaine said. "It was planting, weeding, seeding and gardening all the time."
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Superior and Northwood Technical College, Charmaine has a background in business management, accounting, supervision and human services.
The family's larger farm is in the Floodwood/Wawina area, where Douglas is from. They also operate two greenhouses next to their home in Duluth's Kenwood neighborhood.
"It's up on the hill, away from the lake effect, and we get lots of sun. It's pretty good soil there, too," Charmaine said.
Work on the farm is year-round. Garden planning takes place over the winter, and seeds are ordered in the early springtime. Seedlings are transferred from the greenhouses to the ground once it thaws.
They primarily harvest berries, corn, pumpkins, squash, carrots, celery, herbs and small tomatoes.
Although community events were put on hold during the pandemic, their garden continued to produce a plentiful bounty. To preserve the large harvest, they started canning salsas, jam, jelly and pickles. Eventually, dehydrating and freeze-drying was added to their food preservation methods.
When all of their produce preparation was completed for the winter, they began experimenting with candy. The freeze-dried candy production is twice as busy as the gardening season for the Grovenburg family.
"Our freeze driers are going 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We're going back to back. We call it 'piggy-backing,' where you end one and start another," Charmaine said.
Fifteen 30-gallon containers of freeze-dried candy were sold at each weekendlong event Kenwood Farms attended, Charmaine estimated.
"After it took off like crazy, we decided, 'Well, why go to all these events and everything? Let's just open a store,'" Charmaine said. "It was actually pretty surprising because it was more of a need basis to save our garden."
In October, Kenwood Farms moved into its storefront at 323 ½ N. Central Ave., Duluth, the former location of Dungeon's End. The couple enjoys the tight-knit community feel among businesses in West Duluth.
The debut of its Wisconsin location followed a month later. In addition to offering the same freeze-dried candy and canned food found at the Duluth store, the Urban Depot at 709 Belknap St., Superior, also features a makers market of locally handcrafted items from 19 vendors.
Kenwood Farms also serves as a vendor at several Northland businesses, including Piedmont Milk House in Duluth, Lucky Lucy's Emporium in Iron River and Wendy's Widgets in Ashland. Their concessions can be found at Fryberger Arena in the Woodland neighborhood of Duluth during hockey games.
The business involves the help of the Grovenburgs' 10 children, ages 11-23. The family's combined skills, such as three-dimensional printing, custom screen-printed clothing, and training courses for firearm carry permits and hunter safety, add to their wide array of services.
Sour Skittles, or "Frittles," are the most popular freeze-dried candy item of more than 60 flavors, which range from cookies and cream mocha to pickle.
The candy is sourced from Nassau Candy, a wholesaler in Philadelphia. Candy, such as Skittles, is washed of the original flavor and placed in one of their four-shelf Harvest Right freeze-drying machines. A vacuum chamber removes moisture and freezes items to 70 degrees below zero before they are packaged in air-tight containers.
In the month before Christmas, Douglas estimated $900 was spent in bulk wholesale solely made up of Skittles. Kenwood Farms also freeze-dries marshmallows, salt-water taffy, M&Ms, ice cream sandwiches and more. They don't freeze-dry sugar-free candy, however, because it wreaks havoc on their machines, Charmaine said.
As for canned goods, the "Freaking Hot" pickles and salsa are favorites of customers.
Perimeter Hardware Retail Display "We listen to our customers and find what they like and try to make it work," Charmaine said. "People have been liking the hot and the sour stuff —the extremes of your taste buds just having something new."