US (IL): FarmedHere indoor farm shuts down

FarmedHere, a commercial-scale hydroponic farm in Bedford Park, had lofty goals of expanding to cities across the U.S. and beyond. The company was "on the precipice of international expansion," then-CEO Matt Matros said in July 2015.

Early last year, Matros announced a $23 million, 60,000-square-foot indoor farm that was to be the linchpin of a new development in a blighted area of Louisville, Ky.

But plans fell apart. Faced with onerous operational costs and increasing competition in the Chicago market, Nate Laurell, who took over as CEO last January, decided over the summer to pull the plug on the Louisville farm.

And as of Monday, FarmedHere, a pioneer of the new wave of commercial urban farms in the Chicago area, is closing its 90,000-square-foot Bedford Park facility for good.

"It was a difficult decision. This whole thing has been a hard decision to make. But we continue to be big believers in the (local food) space," Laurell said.

Though the farm is closing, it's not the end of the line. Here Holdings, parent company of FarmedHere, is shifting its focus and resources to making food products — such as juices, salad dressings and spreads — under the Here brand, which will be made at the company's food processing plant in Carol Stream. The goods will be made with produce from local farms, such as tomatoes from Rochelle-based MightyVine, in partnership with Local Foods, a Chicago produce distributor.

Read the full story at the Chicago Tribune