What Has Happy Day Been Working On? A Vision for the Future of Local Food
You might be wondering, what has Happy Day been up to lately? Great question! Over the past few years, we’ve been working on something bigger than just our restaurants—something that could transform the way food is sourced and shared in our entire community.
Our Journey Toward Local Food Systems
Back in 2021, we took a big step toward supporting our local economy and changing the way food is distributed. We purchased a warehouse behind the mall with the goal of creating a local supply distribution center for our restaurants. We saw a real need for a system that could provide our kitchens with fresh, local products, rather than relying on centralized systems that have become increasingly unreliable. Between food shortages and soaring prices, it became clear that we needed to build something stronger and more sustainable.
The benefits of a localized food system are immense:
- Supporting Local Economies: By sourcing food from nearby farmers and producers, we can reinvest dollars back into our own community.
- Building Resilience: A local food system is less vulnerable to the disruptions we’ve seen in global supply chains.
- Clean, Healthy Food: We want to know exactly where our food comes from and that it’s free of unnecessary chemicals or processing. We believe in feeding our valley real food—food that nourishes us and promotes a healthy future.
Though this project has been challenging, we’ve stepped forward with faith in the Lord and a clear vision that’s unfolding more each day.
The Butcher Shop: A Local Meat Supply Chain
One of the first major milestones in our journey was the opening of our Butcher Shop in December 2023. Inside the warehouse, our highly skilled team is processing local beef, sourced from Big Canyon Beef, just 40 miles from town.
Our butcher shop allows us to cut, package, and distribute this beef to our restaurants. In the near future, we will be certified USDA beef providers. What’s even more exciting is that we’re now able to offer this local beef for sale to the community. You can find ground beef available in 2lb chubs or a 10lb Butcher Box at Zany’s. And as we approach the holiday season, we plan to offer a variety of holiday butcher boxes with cuts that are perfect for any family meal.
This is just the beginning of a much larger vision—one where this local supply chain serves not just our restaurants, but all the kitchens in the valley. This is about providing clean, fresh food to everyone who wants it and supporting local farmers and ranchers along the way.
What’s Next? A Bakery to Serve the Community
Our next big project? A Costco-sized bakery! We’re thrilled to share that we are in the process of setting up a large-scale bakery in the warehouse to supply fresh bread and baked goods to our restaurants.
With this new space, we plan to bake everything from hamburger buns and dinner rolls to doughs and pastries. Our goal is to create high-quality, fresh baked goods made with clean ingredients, so that we can offer a better dining experience at our restaurants—and eventually share these products with the wider community.
We’ve been fortunate to source bakery equipment from a regional Costco bakery, and we’re excited to begin baking on a large scale. We anticipate a few months of trial and error as we fine-tune recipes, experiment with cleaner ingredients, and adjust to the demands of production. Once we’re through the trial phase, we’ll start supplying our restaurants with fresh-baked goods made locally in our own kitchen.
Inside the Warehouse: A Growing Hub of Local Food
There’s a lot going on inside the Happy Day Local warehouse. Along with the butcher shop and bakery operations, we also have a massive refrigerator & freezer holding everything from dry-aged beef to other restaurant products. We have aisles of dry goods, a maintenance area, a commissary kitchen—and perhaps most exciting of all, an aeroponics system.
What is Aeroponics?
Aeroponics is an innovative farming technique where plants are grown without soil. Instead, plants are suspended in the air, and their roots are periodically misted with nutrient-rich water. This process promotes faster growth, higher yields, and uses less water than traditional farming methods. We’re using aeroponics to grow fresh lettuces, herbs, and greens right here in the warehouse.
By growing our own food this way, we can supply our restaurants with ultra-fresh, pesticide-free produce—grown right here in the valley. We’re currently working on setting up the space to optimize production, and in just about five weeks, we’ll be harvesting our first crops.
The Bigger Picture: A Shift Toward Local Food
The work we’re doing at Happy Day Local is about much more than just our restaurants—it’s about changing the entire food system in our region. We believe our local food system has the potential to support not only our restaurants but every restaurant and kitchen in the valley. We want our community to have access to clean, fresh, and nutrient-rich food—food that makes us feel better and fuels us in a healthy way.
This vision has taken a lot of time and effort, and we’ve been so encouraged by the support of local farmers, ranchers, businesses, restauranteurs, and community members who are excited to be part of this change. It’s been a journey of learning and growth, and we’re committed to working together with everyone who shares this vision.
Looking Ahead: Building a Stronger Community Together
Our journey is far from over, but we are optimistic about the future. Happy Day Local is about more than just a distribution center—it’s about creating a sustainable food system that feeds the valley, supports local farmers, and promotes health and well-being for everyone.
Food is at the heart of everything we do—it fuels us, it brings us together, and it can make a real difference in how we live. Let’s keep moving forward and make the shift toward a healthier, more resilient food system. We’re excited to see where this path leads, and we hope you’ll join us in making it happen!
Stay tuned for more updates and thank you for being part of this exciting journey!
November 13th, 2024
