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La Milpa owners Monica Chavez and Martin Gonzalez standing on the front porch of the eatery where the weekly farmers market takes place. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Produce for sale at La Plaza Farmers Market. (Photo courtesy of Martin Gonzalez)
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Herbs for sale at La Plaza farmers market. (Photo courtesy of Martin Gonzalez)
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Martin Gonzalez (left) standing with Mery Caldwell (middle) and Michael Carter (right) from Virginia State University's Small Farm Outreach Program during the inaugural La Plaza Farmers Market debut on Saturday, May 4. (Photo courtesy of Martin Gonzalez)
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Flowers for sale lining the patio of La Milpa, home to La Plaza Farmers Market. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Herbs including basil, mint and parsley growing outside of La Milpa. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Flowers and herbs lining the front of La Milpa at 6925 Hull Street Road. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The front porch of La Milpa is surrounded with herbs and flowers that can be purchased at the market. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The H-2A visa workers Luis Genaro Cruz Crisanto (left) and Maria Jose Montes Cruz (right) on Colobri farm. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The future site of the shrimp pond that will be running within the next two weeks. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Rows of tomatoes, zucchini, squash and more at Colobri. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Last year around this time, Martin Gonzalez, co-owner of La Milpa at 6925 Hull Street Road in Chesterfield, was just beginning to plant at Colibri, an 8-acre garden less than a mile from his almost-30-year-old institution La Milpa, a 24-hour eatery and cultural hub. His vision has slowly formed and now blossomed after the launch of La Plaza, a weekly farmers market that debuted on May 4 at La Milpa and will continue on Saturdays through Nov. 2 from 7 a.m. to noon.
“We are putting the pieces together so La Milpa will be a place with longevity,” says Gonzalez. “I’m very happy because it’s connecting the whole idea — farming, the restaurant and bringing people together. I love to see new faces.”
The garden will yield nearly 5,000 plants, including cilantro, Roma tomatoes, jalapenos, serrano peppers, zucchini, squash and onions.
The goal is to provide produce for the community, as well as the restaurant, and elevate their menu offerings with the addition of fresh, seasonal and local items, while also supporting lesser-known farmers.
"If you are not exposed to the people, they will never learn about you," Gonzalez explains. "When you are able to make connections, you want to support them — the farmer and the owner, you are supporting something larger. That's what's happening here."
While growing up in Mexico City, Gonzalez often rode the subway to a southern suburb called Xochimilco — an oasis of canals and chinampas, floating, man-made islands created by the Aztecs in the 1300s. He was infatuated. Now at Colibri, the Spanish word for a hummingbird, which is considered a good luck charm in the Aztec culture, he has an opportunity to create an agricultural lifestyle based on living off the land.
Similar small tilapia ponds he witnessed during his youth will be recreated at Colibri, and within the next two weeks, aquaculture techniques will be implemented in order to farm tilapia and shrimp on the property.
Gonzalez and partner Monica Chavez have employed the help of two full-time H-2A visa farmhands, Luis Genaro Cruz Crisanto and Maria Jose Montes Cruz — an uncle-and-niece team — who live on Colibri and present extensive knowledge surrounding farming, specifically aquaculture. The duo hails from an area of Mexico along the Gulf Coast, and they plan to work on the farm until December, and then return in February.
“They know about that region and fish and have recipes — all of that we are excited about,” Chavez says. “We also identify with them. We are from the same region.
Gonzalez and Chavez are continuing to work with Virginia State University’s Small Farm Outreach Program, which is led by Mery Caldwell. Virginia State University will host a ServSafe Certification class later this year in Spanish to help assist other Latino businesses owners.
Gonzalez plans to host cooking demos on La Milpa's front patio and showcase how to use the ingredients from the garden. Little by little, La Milpa is changing the course of it’s identity to be more than simply a restaurant and market — they are curating an experience and trying to better serve the Latin community and Chesterfield in general.
The growing market not only features produce from Colibri, but also from Rosa’s Garden in Mechanicsville, led by Rosa Nunez and her husband Carlos. The Nunezes took over Dodd’s Acres Farms in 2018 after owner Robert Dodd passed away, and they have served as agricultural mentors for Gonzalez and Chavez.
“I believe through this idea we are developing, we will make a big difference,” says Gonzalez. "This is just the beginning."
La Plaza Farmers Market takes place every Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon through November 2. Some produce items and flowers can be purchased outside of the farmers market hours.
