Christian said he had his eye on the site when it was up for sale in 2021 but he missed his opportunity when it sold. It went back up for sale recently, and he and his wife Charity Christian immediately jumped at the opportunity.
The food truck business will have a freestanding kitchen on site, but it won’t immediately open as the truck is booked for events for the next several months. The truck will be at the grand opening Thursday and Friday, Jacob Christian said.
The farm is the perfect site for the restaurant and flower business, Jacob Christian said, having the right “vibe.”
“I think it would be great to be able to just be open and people can call us and place an order and come pick up food, or stop in for lunch if we’re open for lunch and sit out on a picnic table, on the patio and have lunch,” Jacob Christian said. “Just have a really fun, relaxing vibe to come and get some barbeque and buy some flowers.”
Charity Christian said her stepmother got her interested in flowers and gardening, and she has always enjoyed arts and crafts projects. She said she likes to make beautiful things that improve people’s moods, though she has never pursued it professionally prior to this venture.
She said the goal for the property is to have a full flower farm with hanging planters, vintage style pots and planters, a build-your-own planter option and eventually a class she will teach.
“I think it would be fun for her to get to know a customer [and] make it a little more personal than just going to a regular store and buying the flowers,” Jacob Christian said.
On the restaurant side, Jacob Christian said he hopes to open a deli counter in the future, as his passion for the meat business is not only in barbeque. The business will also sell locally sourced produce and other items, he said.
Jacob Christian, who was a pig farmer, got into the barbecue business following the owner of the bar where he worked in Columbus asking him if he could do a hog roast for an event in 2007. He and his friend watched videos to learn the barbecue process and came up with a recipe for a dry rub. He said the hogs were a hit at the event and he was hooked.
He said he had checked out the barbeque scene in North Carolina when he had an internship there and he got an idea of the “vibe” of these places and what good barbeque tastes like. Years later, he went to Texas and had a similar experience.
“People can see the smokers; you can see the people out working,” he said. “It’s a social thing more than just going to get food.”
Since then, Jacob Christian said he worked events and in 2013 he bought his first food truck. In 2017, he said he started working the truck full time, and in 2019 he bought his second food truck.
Business at the food truck has been booming, particularly with catering, Jacob Christian said. The farm will provide a home base and allow stay-at-home mom Charity Christian to have an identity and passion outside of the home while still being able to take care of and see the family’s children.
The farm will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The food truck will be open on site as much as possible and updates will be available on social media.
The farm will be open on Mother’s Day on Sunday, with Charity Christian providing ornamental flower arrangements for the occasion.
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