“We know what we’re doing here is the future of our food. The opportunities are endless, and we are on to something special.”
Growing up with parents who came from farming families, George Gastis ’92 has a special green thumb that has always had his neighbors jealous of his backyard garden. His love not only for gardening, but of his family upbringing of eating and sharing food with others, was the foundation of his vision to grow food for his community with a place to gather and enjoy it with family and friends.
After selling his software business, Gastis’ vision came to life in 2019 with Grow + Gather.
Located in a renovated historic auto shop in Englewood, Colorado, Grow + Gather brings to life George’s vision of the farm-to-table movement in an urban setting. With an indoor hydroponic farm, an offsite dirt farm, a rooftop greenhouse, a marketplace, and an on-site restaurant, Grow + Gather has become a hot spot not only for Englewood residents but for nearby communities as a space for gathering and enjoying locally sourced ingredients.
“We know what we’re doing here is the future of our food,” says Gastis. “The opportunities are endless, and we are on to something special.”
Offering gathering spaces for meetings and events, Grow + Gather’s custom hydroponic urban garden at 40 feet by 30 feet makes use of vertical space as big as two acres of farmland, which inspires meals served at The Feedery, the on-site restaurant. The marketplace offers produce from the urban garden and other locally sourced goods like homemade sauces, kombucha, pastries, and coffee.
“This is a passion project, and I’m extremely grateful to live my dream alongside the support of my wife [Laura Lee Gastis ’91], family, and community.”
Pictured above: George Gastis ’92, pictured with his wife, Laura Lee Gastis ’91