Milwaukee-based Hundred Acre, an indoor urban farm, has increased its reach and production over the past year to accommodate several new clients, including The Bartolotta Restaurants and several grocery stores in and around Milwaukee.
The company’s 5,000-square-foot facility in Milwaukee’s 30th Street Industrial Corridor touts a three-part farming system, which yields 35 times more crops than a traditional outdoor farm, according to founder, owner and CEO Chris Corkery.
Its vertical and hydroponic farming method allows Hundred Acre to lead the indoor farming industry as the largest in Wisconsin. Using nutrient-rich water instead of soil, platforms stacked five high grow salad greens and basil year-round. This is all done in a climate-controlled environment that gets harvested weekly, producing 50,000 pounds of produce each year.
“It’s a perfect summer day in the facility every day, 365 days of the year,” said Corkery.
Corkery is a veteran chef from New York and founder of New York-based Planet to Plate, the parent company of Hundred Acre. His mission is to address food insecurity and build a more resilient supply chain for food across Wisconsin. In January 2025, Hundred Acre will celebrate its three-year anniversary.
In the past year, Hundred Acre has secured partnerships with several prominent area companies, released a collaborative pesto sauce with a local meal prep company and doubled down on production at its Farm One facility, located at 3945 N. 31st St. in the Century City Business Park, in hopes of opening a second location next summer.
All of the company’s clients make up what Corkery likes to call, “The Golden Triangle,” divided into three industries: restaurants, grocery stores and schools.
With clients like Roundy’s, Outpost Natural Foods, the Kimpton Journeyman and Saint Kate hotels, Bavette La Boucherie, Bartolotta, Feeding America, Hunger Task Force and Wisconsin Food Hub, among others, Hundred Acre self-identifies as a community development company; Corkery denounces affiliation with tech-forward farming initiatives.
Without its “early-stage adopters,” like Milwaukee-based Black Shoe Hospitality Group – operator of area restaurants Maxie’s, Story Hill BKC and Blue’s Egg – and West Allis-based Brazen Standard Hospitality – operator of Tall Guy and a Grill and other catering brands – Hundred Acre would not have grown as significantly as it has, according to Corkery.
A significant partnership with the Bartolotta restaurant group came in late summer adding several restaurant properties and its Downtown Kitchen at the U.S. Bank Center to Hundred Acre’s repertoire.
“They are an incredible partner; they have gotten behind us in a really big way,” Corkery said of Bartolotta.
In October, Hundred Acre announced a new partnership with Milwaukee-based Roundy’s, a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based national grocery conglomerate Kroger that operates Pick ‘n Save and Metro Market stores. Hundred Acre now supplies Roundy’s with its signature salad greens blend, Italian Large Leaf basil and its pesto sauce, known as “Pesto with Purpose,” which launched in January in collaboration with Milwaukee-based Freshchef Meal Prep as a part of Hundred Acre’s artisanal sauce initiative.
Corkery’s team delivers products directly to the partnered Metro Market stores where the product is shelved and displayed in its respective section. Specialty displays are made to showcase the pesto in tandem with other ingredients, such as fresh pasta and tomatoes, to make a meal.
Three Metro Market locations, in Mequon, Shorewood and downtown Milwaukee, sell Hundred Acre products as a part of its mission to support local growers and commerce. The farm’s 4-ounce salad greens blend is priced at $4.50, the 1-ounce basil at $2.50 and the 9-ounce Pesto with Purpose at $9.99 in Metro Market stores.
Brian LeStarge, vice president of merchandising for Roundy’s, said selling local products in stores is a big part of the company’s mission.
“(Hundred Acre) becoming a part of our stores really represents our core values in terms of community partnership,” said LeStarge.
Hundred Acre’s basil pesto is now also sold at Outpost in Milwaukee, Piggly Wiggly in Mequon and GoGrocer in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.
From an investment standpoint, Hundred Acre’s partnership with Roundy’s meant it was “onto something big,” Corkery said. The partnership highlights the reliability of Hundred Acre’s business and underscores the aligned mission that Metro Market shares in shopping local, Corkery added.
Plans to open a second facility on Keefe Street in Riverwest are still underway for summer 2025. Once open and operating, Farm Two will be an expansion of farming productions similar to Hundred Acre’s Farm One location.
Other future plans include the rollout of a salad dressing line in early 2025 and the continued expansion of product distribution in Milwaukee and beyond.
