Buttonwood Farm acquires Eat Here Saint Louis, deepening commitment, access to local food

 

The family behind Buttonwood Farm recently announced the acquisition of successful local food distributor, Eat Here Saint Louis, a move to deepen the farm and food distributor’s commitment to bring local farms’ proteins and produce to area restaurants and retailers. The growth of both businesses signifies the desire of local communities across Missouri to support local farms and economies.

The merger of the businesses blossomed from a longstanding friendship between Buttonwood Farm Owners Matt and Eleanor Tiefenbrun and Eat Here Saint Louis Owners Preston and Megan Walker. “We like to think of this as welcoming another family into ours,” said the Tiefenbruns. “Megan and Preston have been friends of ours for many years now, and we share in our commitment to providing the best local ingredients to the communities we serve. Since we are farmers ourselves, we understand the needs of the producers as well as the quality of product that Eat Here Saint Louis’ restaurants and retailers have come to expect over the last seven years.”

Preston and Megan Walker purchased Eat Here Saint Louis in 2017 from Founder Andy Ayers. Due to the demand for local produce and proteins and their commitment to customer service, they tripled the sales of the business to serve over 100 restaurants, grocery stores, caterers, schools, and more.

Eat Here Saint Louis works with 100 local farms in Missouri and Illinois within a 175 miles radius of St. Louis.

“We’ve seen a great shift in how people eat over the last 10 years,” said Eat Here Saint Louis’ Preston Walker. “Local restaurant guests and grocery shoppers are curious about where their food comes from. They expect to learn about the farms during their meal, and they want chefs and retailers to care about sourcing from local producers. We just made that process a little easier. Instead of a chef or grocery buyer contacting numerous farms, and then farmers running around town to make deliveries, we streamlined that distribution process so the end consumer has access to more local farms in more places. We share that commitment to making the best local food accessible to the community with Matt and Eleanor. Buttonwood Farm was a leader in that expectation of quality product from local farmers so that shared trust is already established with our partners.”

For Buttonwood Farm, the journey from farmer to food distributor also grew organically. The Tiefenbruns bought a 160-acre farm in California, Mo. in their early 20s in 2010 and began raising chickens and turkeys on their open pastures. Word got out about the quality of their proteins, and they slowly added more farm acreage as well as egg production over the next six years, doubling their business each year. In 2023, Buttonwood Farm was poised for growth due to the expertise and experience from a board of local investors in their community, and the family-run business expanded their distribution across Missouri to Columbia, Jefferson City, Springfield as well as Kansas City.

“We’ve come a long way, but our why hasn’t changed. We work every day to thoughtfully cultivate relationships that nurture our local food cycle,” the Tiefenbruns said further. “We understand the needs and struggles of the local farmer, and we hope that we can provide efficiencies and infrastructure to allow them to grow their businesses as well. We also maintain Eat Here Saint Louis’ commitment to provide the very best of local produce and proteins to our restaurant and retail partners.”

Just this year, Buttonwood Farm has built a new packing facility, expanded cold storage and invested in equipment to increase efficiencies in egg production. They have also acquired another pasture-raised egg business in a neighboring county. With the Eat Here Saint Louis acquisition, Buttonwood Farm will be able to offer a broader range of products to restaurants and retailers as well as gain efficiencies in distribution logistics.

Buttonwood Farm is interested in working with more local partners – both farmers and restaurants and retailers – across their distribution footprint from Saint Louis to Kansas City. To inquire about working with Buttonwood Farm, contact Logan at (573) 255-8871.

Photos courtesy Buttonwood Farm.