Growing up, Matt Schmitt knew he’d run the family business one day.
“He always wanted to be a farmer, that was for sure,” Matt’s wife, Ashley Schmitt, says of her husband, a man of relatively few words. “But it’s a lot of work, you know. It’s longer hours … you see all of your peers sort of having more free time and things like that.”
The 165-acre Schmitt’s Farm has belonged to Matt’s family for more than 100 years and four generations and, despite the hard work and long hours, he and Ashley have taken the task of running the long-standing business in stride. Today, they not only keep traditions alive but expand upon them, working to ensure the beloved Riverhead farm continues to thrive.
The often-literal fruits of the couple’s labor can be seen at Schmitt’s Farm Stand (3355 Sound Ave., Riverhead, 631-983-6565), which opened in 2003 and is home to a variety of locally sourced goods and a friendly, attentive staff that takes pride in their work. That stand has since expanded into the larger space that local commuters, daily shoppers and North Fork vacationers visit today.
Generations of cultivation
Matt and Ashley, both 40, gradually took over operations at the 200-acre farm over the last several years. While the reins were officially passed to the couple, the business remains a family affair, with siblings, parents and even grandparents pitching in year-round to help with operations.
Ashley, whose parents were teachers and who trained to be an educator herself, used to work summers at the farm stand with Matt’s mom, Debbie Schmitt, 67. Today, Ashley, her sister, Kelsey McCafferty, and Debbie run the stand, helping customers check out and acting as the farm’s public-facing staff. Debbie also lends a hand in the kitchen, curating a variety of tasty consumer goods.
“My mother is in there a lot,” Matt says.
Matt’s father, Philip Schmitt Jr., 68, and his brother, Philip Schmitt III, 42, help around the farm during harvest seasons throughout the year. Matt’s grandmother Anne Schmitt, 92, also still works there occasionally, taking wholesale orders on the farm or at home.
“There’s a lot of family involved that stay with it,” Ashley says.
Matt’s grandfather Philip Schmitt Sr., 92, who helped keep family traditions like making horseradish alive, also pops in from time to time.
“They’ve all done it, so they all get it,” Matt says of his relatives’ dedication to the farm. “You know they’re going to show up every single day because we’re busy, and help out. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is or when it is — if you’ve got to get it done, you’ve got to get it done.”
Change throughout the years
When Matt’s great-grandfather Philip started the farm Philip A. Schmitt and Son Inc. in Queens in the 1920s, the family was growing hardy crops like lettuce, parsley, spinach, sweet corn, herbs, beets, cauliflower, cabbage and horseradish. The business eventually moved to Farmingdale, finding its permanent home in Riverhead in 1978.
“Early on, they were primarily vegetable farmers and they only wholesaled their produce to wholesalers out of the city — Hunts Point, things like that,” Ashley says. “And even when they moved here, like as we were growing up when we were kids, they were still really only wholesaling it to markets and grocery stores and restaurants.”
Originally, the family mainly grew root vegetables like beets because they could be stored in cellars, something Matt says was beneficial during cold months.
“It kind of shifts as things change; we started growing cilantro and all of that type of stuff,” he says. Sweet corn became another huge crop for the Schmitts as a popular retail item for wholesalers; they now harvest about 150 acres a year.
“We still wholesale a lot,” Matt continues. “The hardest thing is trying to find that balance [between retail and wholesale]. Expenses are too high and stuff is too cheap — that’s the hardest part about it.”
The Schmitts also started to grow a variety of flowers, including sunflowers and pansies. In 2000, Debbie began selling mixed cut-flower bouquets as a sort of side business out of a small cart on Roanoke Avenue.
Schmitt’s Farm Stand on Sound was built in 2013 when Ashley was pregnant with her first son, Matthew Jr. Last year, the family began operating a commercial kitchen to keep up with demand for their delicious products. It’s just one way the Schmitts have adapted over the years to ensure their continuing success.
“Now, with that additional commercial kitchen space, we’re trying to expand our offerings and sort of use everything that we grow here on the farm and add value to it,” Ashley says.
Holy Schmitt!
The commercial kitchen has enabled the business to branch out its offerings and expand the Holy Schmitt brand, launched in 2010, that locals love.
“Like for instance, now we’re doing a bunch of different quiches — so whatever seasonal vegetables that we have available, we’re able to mix those into the [quiches] and sell those,” Ashley says. “We’re pickling different vegetables, [making] jams, [and] we’ve expanded our baking.”
Photos by David Benthal
Popular items at the stand include carrot cake jam, horseradish dill jam, sunflowers, roasted corn, loaded baked potatoes and salad dressings.
“We feel like using what we grow and preparing it for people might be another way to sort of carry on this farming tradition,” Ashley says. “Our dressings are very popular as well. We have a salad dressing, a sweet vinaigrette that we make here in our kitchen, that is very popular.”
Sweet-corn salsa is one of the stand’s top sellers when it’s in season over the summer. The most well-known condiment Schmitt’s Farm Stand sells by far, however, is horseradish.
Horseradish traditions
Many Polish and German households are familiar with horseradish, particularly around Easter and Passover, as a bitter herb or tasty condiment to accompany holiday meats.
In the 1980s, the Schmitts were growing roughly 25 acres of horseradish, selling it to wholesale markets in time for the holidays. As part of the rich Polish and German tradition in Riverhead, Philip Sr. also prepared it for friends and family, washing, peeling grating and mixing the root by hand in tandem with his secret recipe. Each spring, he delivered the product to loved ones’ doorsteps in recycled tomato-sauce jars.
By 2009, though, just half an acre was being used to grow horseradish and Matt felt the family tradition had fallen by the wayside. That same year, he decided to reintroduce the once-popular homegrown specialty as a retail item.
In spring 2010, customers were ecstatic to see jars of Holy Schmitt Horseradish for sale at the stand. Soon enough, word spread about the locally sourced delicacy, with jars flying off the shelves.
“March is actually our prime horseradish time,” Ashley says. “So that’s kind of like the kickoff to our season each year, as one of the first things we pull out of the ground is the horseradish.”
Following the overwhelmingly positive reception of its freshly prepared horseradish, the family began selling it in a variety of flavors, like beet, mustard, cranberry, barbeque, cocktail and hot pepper.
After 15 years working at the stand, Ashley says she has yet to grow tired of the farm lifestyle or family business.
“For me, one of the nicest things — having been here for 15 years, we have really nice, loyal customers,” she says. “They’re so good to me… Our customers bring me Christmas presents for my kids, they knitted me things when I had the baby — it’ s just really nice to see.
“I do really feel like it’s a community job. You really feel like you’re a part of your community and you rely on them so much, and we’re very appreciative.”
