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Buying bulk produce is not as easy as it may seem. "Tomatoes are a great example. Most grocery store tomatoes have been gassed with preservatives that help them hold their color and not decompose. They were not allowed to color naturally from a green tomato to red, and that is why they tend to be bland," Brown explains. "If you want to find the best tomatoes, there's no substitute to driving out to the farms and getting to know the farmers. There is never any wondering what our produce has been through." Looking around the stand, the care and attention that has gone in to sourcing the food is evident. Everything looks so fresh and vibrant, and Brown tells me most of it was still in the ground just that morning. Natasha Phillips, owner of local restaurants Fountain of Juice and Romo's, has been buying her tomatoes here for years. "Right now, local produce is in my favorite season, and the tomatoes coming through Trey's hands at the Northside stand are incredible," she says. For Phillips, who grew up in a multi-generational restaurant family, fresh food was a way of life. "My whole existence revolved around food. My family celebrated everything with food — birthday parties, holidays, Sundays, the seasons changing, any and all excuses for us to eat ourselves silly," she says. I reminisce about my experience also growing up in a multi-generational restaurant family, and ask her how food has impacted her life. "When I think about the role of food in my life, I think about the summers I spent in Italy. I see myself sitting at the base of a cherry tree, picking the ripe ones right off the branch, eating myself sick," she laughs before clarifying. "Literally, I was throwing up at the base of the tree. I have other memories, like the first time I tasted a tree-ripened apricot, that guide the way I cook to this day." It was her desire to share that love of fresh food that prompted her to open Fountain of Juice nearly 14 years ago. "I knew I wanted to serve simply-prepared, great local produce, just like I had growing up. When you taste something that is so perfect it blows your mind, it changes you as a person," she says. "We use local fruits, lettuce, vegetables, pecans, cheese and beef. On top of tasting better, supporting local producers has the added benefit of keeping our money in our community. It feeds one another's children and keeps us all thriving." Tomatoes, like the ones she sources at Brown's fruit stand, can be found all over the menu at her restaurants, but they really shine on the Burrata Caprese Pizza at Romo's. "The lightly charred, wood-fire pizza crust, pulled burrata and fresh tomatoes combine together to be something truly phenomenal. We also do a Southern Italian Tomato Pie at FOJ with chopped herbs, Parmesan and cheddar, and heaps of fresh tomatoes, all baked in a pie shell to gooey perfection," she says. As she's describing the food to me, I can't help but feel grateful that she, along with Brown — as well as everyone from the field hands to the line cooks in the kitchen — came together to put this food on the table. 84 maconmagazine.com | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021