By Diana Lichtenstein || Contributing Writer
Fresh Farms Cafe, located on 621 Harrisburg Ave, has recently been permanently closed.
Fresh Farms is a relatively healthy and casual joint whipping up salads, soups, sandwiches, and various other options. Fresh Farm’s appeal is its effort in attaining high quality and organic ingredients for their menu items. This closing came as a shock to me, because of its sudden nature. My reality shifted as I was used to seeing the restaurant open and running every time I was in that area, which is in close proximity to campus, to out of nowhere seeing it with the lights shut off and a sign that reads “closed.” Last year, as a Freshman, Fresh Farms was a place that I would frequent on a semi-regular basis. I was not in love with the food options on campus (and am still not so fond) so I looked to other offerings. I used to get the blackened chicken cobb wrap or the tomato soup. Something about the bright interior and home-like environment made me feel at ease. In the area that Fresh Farms is located, there are really only a few options for food, (Iron Hill, Oka, Steel Peel) so to see this go makes me notice that now there are even fewer options sadly.
In light of this confusing and somewhat disheartening news, I looked to my friends for solace and a consensus. First off, I asked them if anyone had heard the reasoning for the sudden shutdown. No one knew for sure, but one friend mentioned how they heard a rumor that the store was told to pay $80 for the electrical bill and could not or would not cough up the money. This seemed suspicious to me, but crazy if true. I decided to do some research on my own. To my surprise, it was extremely hard to find any reasoning for the closing. At this point, the rumor was seeming more believable. I was still overtaken by one emotion: confusion.
My friends, however, were not confused as to why it would close. Sophomore student Stephanie Greene commented, “I liked the oatmeal and the soup, but otherwise, the food was mediocre. Hopefully, something better goes in its place.” Another sophomore student, Maddie Huelbig noted, “I don’t know. I never really liked it. It was expensive and reminded me of an off-brand Panera.” I was definitely taken aback when hearing these fellow classmates’ unadulterated opinions. These opinions were contradictory to what I had thought the student populations’ mentality was regarding Fresh Farms. I wonder if other students share similarly unaffected reactions, but my guess is that my friends’ opinions are close to what others believe, given the lack of discussion happening in terms of its closing. If this is the case, then, as I always say, “everything happens for a reason,” and maybe it is for the best that Fresh Farms has closed. I can’t wait to see a better store or restaurant take over that space.
Sophomore Diana Lichtenstein is a Contributing Writer. Her Email is dlichten@fandm.edu.