Bozzi says new restaurant in West Virginia to become "food hub" for local farmers
The Spring is open for dinner on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights from 5 to 9 p.m., and is open all day Saturday from 8 a.m. and closing at 9 p.m. Spokeswoman Laura Bozzi said the restaurant will eventually be open daily for lunch.
The menu features all fresh, organic ingredients like Chef Al Pettijohn's butternut squash gratin and cauliflower ragu.
Those vegetables now come from farms outside West Virginia, but The Spring eventually plans to feature locally-grown produce.
Bozzi is trying to develop arrangements with nearby farms, but it could be a while before those ingredients wind up on dinner plates.
"It's all relationship building," she said. "They're taking a risk to plant for us, and we're making an investment in them."
It's difficult to operate a truly "farm-to-table" restaurant anywhere, but Bozzi said it's especially difficult in West Virginia.
"With farmers, they're small scale here. You can't go to one farm and get everything," she said.
