LEIPER'S FORK, Tenn. – After watching a documentary on the food industry, a Manhattan-raised businessman decided to try his luck at farming.
Paul and Deborah Schertz began farming on their land in Leiper's Fork about five years ago.
Schertz told News 2 that he was formally involved in the real estate market in Florida and he became interested in farming after he watched the Food, Inc. documentary and learned about all the things that are wrong with industrially produced food.
In addition to farming, the couple opened Joe Natural's, a café where they could sell all of the food grown on their local farm.
"We thought we'd sell to different little restaurants, but then one thing led to another and Joe Natural's was created," Schertz said.
The menu changes seasonally at the restaurant and everything offered is either grown on the Schertz's farm or on neighboring farms.
"It's so fresh and tasty," said Debroah Schertz, who works in the café's kitchen while works the counter.
The couple enjoys their new line of work and said it's a way of life they never could have imagined just five years ago.
"This is a lot of fun and very rewarding," Schertz said.
Follow Joe Naturals on Twitter.
