Tomatoes growing on twisted vines, heads of purple cabbage, and other leafy greens are among the dozens of crops sprouting at a half-acre lot in the heart of St. Petersburg that's been transformed into a thriving educational urban farm.

15th Street Farm, a nonprofit located at 342 15th Street North, is expanding its footprint and impact in the community.

Business leaders and St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce members recently gathered at 15th Street Farm, cutting a ceremonial ribbon celebrating the addition of a new 2,000-square-foot building that houses a kitchen with a baking station and spacious walk-in cooler, a wood-fired brick oven, and a 60-seat whimsical outdoor dining area surrounded by rows of crops.

“It took us four years to build this expansion, and we opened it days before Hurricane Helene,” Chef Emmanuel Roux, founder of 15th Street Farm, said during the December 19th ribbon-cutting event.

Roux owns Gateau O Chocolat, a bakery producing organic gluten-free chocolate cake. He was also the former operator of The Garden, an iconic local staple for 15 years before it closed in 2009, on the popular Jannus Block in downtown St. Pete.

While 15th Street Farms doesn’t operate an everyday restaurant, the farm hosts the occasional “soil-to-fork” dinner prepared by Chef Roux.

“All our dinners will be based on a prix fixe and served family-style at long tables in the covered open-air events barn facing our wood-fired brick oven,” states the website. “The emphasis is on the freshness of local ingredients, most of which will be grown a few feet away, and they will illustrate their authentic taste.”

Additionally, the farm offers a variety of events including cooking classes, yoga brunches, corporate lunches, farm tasting tours, and gardening classes.

The story of 15th Street Farm begins in 2010, when Roux and a group of volunteers headed by Bill Bilodeau partnered with Faith House, an alcohol and drug rehab center, to transform several lots into an urban farm as a therapeutic vegetable garden to provide fresh nutrient-dense food to the residents.

However, in 2016, the nonprofit nearly dissolved due to losing federal funding. Mark Hunter, a social entrepreneur, partnered with Roux to redefine the organization's mission as an innovative educational urban farm for the entire community.

15th Street Farm closely collaborates with the University of South Florida to provide educational programming, funding for the farm and create opportunities for students and the youth to get hands-on training.

To date, the farm was worked with over 15 schools and produces over 8,000 pounds of produce yearly.

“In the Tampa Bay area, there are over 3 million people spending millions on food with 99% of it coming from 1,500 miles away. Urban agriculture can have a tremendous impact and be an economic engine,” Roux said.

The nonprofit does not use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

The farm's growing methods are based on organic regenerative agriculture, where farm waste is converted into compost to act as a natural fertilizer and pesticide, relying on the natural soil ecosystem.

With the addition of a new kitchen and family-style long wooden tables inside the open-air dining gazebo, Roux said he hopes the true farm-to-table dining experience will bring more people to the farm by hosting yoga brunches, and private dining events.

The additional revenue generated by private dinners will further fund the nonprofit’s mission by providing free outreach, gardening, cooking, and wellness classes to less fortunate neighbors.

Follow 15th Street Farm on Facebook and Instagram for the latest events and volunteering opportunities. Diners can book private events through the nonprofit’s website, here.