A few blocks south of the Lakewood amphitheater at the end of a dead-end street, something unexpected is sprouting alongside the 10-lane interstate, next to the long-abandoned Cotillion Courts motel: rows upon rows of certified organic kale and collards and beets (and, come summer, tomatoes and eggplants and okra). In 2011, four years after earning a biology degree from Georgia State University, Nuri Icgoren bought the foreclosed five-acre property with his brother, and Urban Sprout Farms was born. You can now find his fruits and vegetables at restaurants, including Rathbun’s and Holeman & Finch, at the Grant Park Farmers Market, and on the local mealkit app PeachDish. Visit the farm from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays to grab some produce or pick your own bouquet. 200 Reynolds Drive, urbansproutfarms.com
This article appears in our June 2018 issue.