A Gentle Harvest Adds a Healthy Choice in Marshall
By Leonard Shapiro
Middleburg’s lamentable loss has become the revitalized town of Marshall’s latest gain.
The Home Farm Store at the corner of Washington and Federal Streets in Middleburg, featuring a variety of organic meats, wines and cheeses among many other products, will close after 11 years. Owner Sandy Lerner will soon open the first “Gentle Harvest” in the old PNC Bank building on Marshall’s Main Street.
The new business will be very much like the old one, only with 50 percent more space. There’s room for a soda fountain, a butcher shop, a deli, and a lounge where patrons can eat and drink, including healthy-choice prepared food items that can be ordered through a drive-through window.
It’s scheduled to open Labor Day weekend in a gutted and remodeled building that also will house the executive offices for Gentle Harvest. Lerner’s strategic partner is Bill Holtzman, a Winchester businessman and the father of Virginia delegate Jill Vogel. Holtzman owns 140gas stations in the region, many close to interstate exits. When he builds a new station, a smaller version of Gentle Harvest may be alongside. If a current location has availability, Lerner has the option to move in.
In addition to its local clientele, the idea is to offer travelers more than just a greasy fast food hamburger and fries when they depart the highway to fuel their cars and satiate their hunger. With 400 upscale new homes coming to Marshall in the next few years, Gentle Harvest will join new Main Street businesses like the Red Truck Bakery, Whole Ox food emporium and cafe and a soon-to-open farm-to-table restaurant, all within walking distance.
Lerner co-founded Cisco Systems and owns historic Aryshire Farm in Upperville. She and and her ex-husband, Len Bosack, sold their shares in Cisco in 1990 for a reported $170 million. She’s a well-known philanthropist who founded and still owns Hunters Head Tavern in Upperville, featuring mostly locally-grown and organic meat and produce on the menu.
She also has property in England, and, she said, “the idea for Gentle Harvest initially came to me when I was driving the highway in England and they had these great farmer’s markets and food locations with food that was locally sourced from the farmers in each particular region. England has always been about 10-15 years ahead of the U.S. when it comes to organic and locally-sourced.”
Why Marshall?
The Fauquier County town “meets a combination of targets,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity, a great and growing community, close to our other operations, and a great building location that was available within our timing.”
Lerner will open a slightly smaller version of Gentle Harvest in Winchester in the old Texas Steakhouse restaurant. It’s located on Route 50 close to I-81 and will have over 2,500 square feet of retail space. Marshall has 4,500 feet and gas station outlets will be between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet, according to Sully Callahan, Gentle Hrvest’s operations manager also in charge of marketing and strategic planning.
“Sandy likes to say it’s the farm stand meeting the freeway,” Callahan said. “You’ll be able to get food that’s a healthy option for you and the kids. We’ll even have healthy dog food. People traveling the highway with kids don’t really have those kinds of options.”
Having the drive-through was critical in choosing Marshall, Callahan added. At first, Lerner looked at the old IGA building, but the county wouldn’t approve a drive-through. The bank, built in 1919, already had one, so now, instead of withdrawing cash, customers can pull up and have the baked sweet potato fries, an organic hamburger and fresh-squeezed lemonade, among many other choices.
There also are 44 parking spaces. Patrons can order a natural soda, a freshly brewed cup of coffee or a locally produced craft beer, not to mention all manner of choices from the deli counter. A selection of beer and local wines will be cooled in the old bank vault. Baked goods, fresh locally-grown vegetables, and other items will also be on sale.
In Middleburg, Lerner leased the building and parking was limited. In Marshall, she’ll own the building (it was purchased for $715,000 and the total investment after the renovation will be $1.5 million) and a lot that also may be used for an occasional weekend farmer’s market. Marshall also is in the midst of its own mini-renaissance, and the location is close to both Marshall exits off I-66.
“The goal,” she said, “is to provide communities and families with healthy food options on the road. It’s also a goal to help local farmers in marketing and selling their products.”