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| Laura's Tea Room - Ridgeway, SC |
Well gang, the last few weeks have been quite a challenge for the folks in our beautiful Palmetto State. So much has happened that has caused us to look closely at the things we hold dear and we are still working to reconcile the turbulent feelings those events have created. But - while we will always have emotional and philosophical trials to endure, the nature of our existence on this planet also ensures that we will have other things - often wondrous or mysterious, delightful or intriguing - to cause us to ponder in amazement the miracles that surround us. We got a chance to see some of those things a couple of days ago and we wanted to share one of them with you. On Saturday the SCTravelersX3 took a break from those serious things and went out to join our neighbors in six of the surrounding counties for the second annual "Ag And Art" tours. For those of you who have been traveling with us for a while, you will remember last year when we discovered this remarkable event. Jointly sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce folks and the Arts Community in six of the adjoining counties, the event pairs creative artists and artisans with working farms in the rural areas and invites the public to come out and visit the sites. There you can see agriculture at its finest in these counties and at the same time have a chance to experience the marvelous array of artistic talent that exists throughout what some might call "rural areas" of our state. Last year, as you might recall, we saw animals of every kind, vegetables, fruits, pastries and juices of amazing varieties and some of the most
spellbinding artwork you could find anywhere. This year we were treated to the same kind of experience and we took the opportunity to visit Fairfield County (home of beautiful Ridgeway) and Chester County, just North of here. We saw some really amazing things but for this post we thought we would concentrate on just one. It is an agricultural setting
quite different from the farms we have seen before and the story is so remarkable we thought it deserved some exclusive space. It is a business located smack-dab in the middle of Ridgeway with the presumptuous name of "Royal Greens"! As you will see, though, their expectations are just ambitious enough to warrant that name and possibly more. We have never been shy in talking about wonderful Ridgeway, so you won't be surprised to hear us do it again. We have talked about the fact that the population of our little town is kinda small - 328 in the 2000 census and 319 in the 2010 census. While those number are fine with us, we think they missed the boat pretty bad in 2010. The town is extraordinarily active and on any given week-end the shops and restaurants are full and we meet new friends almost every week. One of the most popular places to gather is "Laura's Tea Room" at the corner of Main
Street and Longtown Road. Welllllll .... directly behind and across Church Street from the tea room is a huge 176,000 square foot building that lay vacant for over a decade. It is now the home of Royal Greens Hydroponic Farm. The idea for this remarkable business originated when young Scott Harriford, a senior at Heathwood Hall and an employee of the Rosewood Market realized that a great deal of waste was occurring when lettuce and other greens had to be shipped long distances. Scott realized that by creating a local source of greens,
businesses could have fresher produce at a lower cost. With this fascinating concept, a lot of family support and a huge amount of work, the family all pitched in and, to use an 'overused' phrase - the rest is history. On March 19, 2015 ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held with local residents and politicians coming together to celebrate this remarkable event. Scott's dad, Chip Harriford who now heads up things at the farm while Scott is finishing his bachelor's degree at the University of South Carolina, proudly gives all of the credit for the business concept to his son. But it is clear that dad's guidance has had a tremendous impact on the direction
of the company. The scientific aspects of the work continue to evolve and new ways to make the business "greener" are pursued vigorously. The hydroponic frames in which the greens are grown conserve space by
being arranged vertically. Fluorescent lights, traditionally used as "grow-lights" are being replaced with more economical, high-intensity LED light bars. A visit to the farm will cause you to think you have entered another universe and it is amazing to think what this cavernous space will look like in just a few months. Not only was the hydroponic concept sensible to many businesses, they were willing to jump right in with support. McEntire
Produce and Senn Brothers Produce here in South Carolina and McDonalds restaurants in North Carolina and Georgia have standing orders with Royal Greens. But the Harrifords aren't forgetting their neighbors; their products can be found at Laura's Tea Room in Ridgeway and The 'Spotted Salamander' and 'Bourbon' restaurants in Columbia. Although production is limited by the number of hydroponic chambers currently available, work is continuing to expand non-stop. By December the Harrifords hope to be producing 500,000 pounds of greens per week. Their products will include several varieties of lettuce,
kale, arugula, and basil and they already have other plants such as beans under cultivation. In the future, a gift shop will also include a wide array of other vegetables from which visitors may choose. And - they are also planning additional production facilities in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. We are proud of the Harrifords and Royal Greens. They will do well and we will support them. But we are even prouder of the remarkable people who make up this tiny community and the support and encouragement they give all of the new business owners here. We are very glad to be their neighbors - and their friends! Come on out and join us for one of the frequent events we have here in beautiful metropolitan
Ridgeway!! See ya.
spellbinding artwork you could find anywhere. This year we were treated to the same kind of experience and we took the opportunity to visit Fairfield County (home of beautiful Ridgeway) and Chester County, just North of here. We saw some really amazing things but for this post we thought we would concentrate on just one. It is an agricultural setting 
quite different from the farms we have seen before and the story is so remarkable we thought it deserved some exclusive space. It is a business located smack-dab in the middle of Ridgeway with the presumptuous name of "Royal Greens"! As you will see, though, their expectations are just ambitious enough to warrant that name and possibly more. We have never been shy in talking about wonderful Ridgeway, so you won't be surprised to hear us do it again. We have talked about the fact that the population of our little town is kinda small - 328 in the 2000 census and 319 in the 2010 census. While those number are fine with us, we think they missed the boat pretty bad in 2010. The town is extraordinarily active and on any given week-end the shops and restaurants are full and we meet new friends almost every week. One of the most popular places to gather is "Laura's Tea Room" at the corner of Main 
Street and Longtown Road. Welllllll .... directly behind and across Church Street from the tea room is a huge 176,000 square foot building that lay vacant for over a decade. It is now the home of Royal Greens Hydroponic Farm. The idea for this remarkable business originated when young Scott Harriford, a senior at Heathwood Hall and an employee of the Rosewood Market realized that a great deal of waste was occurring when lettuce and other greens had to be shipped long distances. Scott realized that by creating a local source of greens, 
businesses could have fresher produce at a lower cost. With this fascinating concept, a lot of family support and a huge amount of work, the family all pitched in and, to use an 'overused' phrase - the rest is history. On March 19, 2015 ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held with local residents and politicians coming together to celebrate this remarkable event. Scott's dad, Chip Harriford who now heads up things at the farm while Scott is finishing his bachelor's degree at the University of South Carolina, proudly gives all of the credit for the business concept to his son. But it is clear that dad's guidance has had a tremendous impact on the direction 
of the company. The scientific aspects of the work continue to evolve and new ways to make the business "greener" are pursued vigorously. The hydroponic frames in which the greens are grown conserve space by 
being arranged vertically. Fluorescent lights, traditionally used as "grow-lights" are being replaced with more economical, high-intensity LED light bars. A visit to the farm will cause you to think you have entered another universe and it is amazing to think what this cavernous space will look like in just a few months. Not only was the hydroponic concept sensible to many businesses, they were willing to jump right in with support. McEntire 
Produce and Senn Brothers Produce here in South Carolina and McDonalds restaurants in North Carolina and Georgia have standing orders with Royal Greens. But the Harrifords aren't forgetting their neighbors; their products can be found at Laura's Tea Room in Ridgeway and The 'Spotted Salamander' and 'Bourbon' restaurants in Columbia. Although production is limited by the number of hydroponic chambers currently available, work is continuing to expand non-stop. By December the Harrifords hope to be producing 500,000 pounds of greens per week. Their products will include several varieties of lettuce, 
kale, arugula, and basil and they already have other plants such as beans under cultivation. In the future, a gift shop will also include a wide array of other vegetables from which visitors may choose. And - they are also planning additional production facilities in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. We are proud of the Harrifords and Royal Greens. They will do well and we will support them. But we are even prouder of the remarkable people who make up this tiny community and the support and encouragement they give all of the new business owners here. We are very glad to be their neighbors - and their friends! Come on out and join us for one of the frequent events we have here in beautiful metropolitan Ridgeway!! See ya.
