Tony Pfreschy, a Navy Veteran, and his wife Sharon moved from the suburbs to a small farm in Illinois where they began Garlic Breath Farm.
One could say that Kevin Bacon had something to do with the creation of Tony and Sharon Pfreschy’s Garlic Breath Farm.
No, not Kevin Bacon the actor. Kevin Bacon their pet pig.
Kevin Bacon was a surprise Christmas gift in 2010 from Tony to Sharon, who had said she always wanted a pig. However, homeowner associations weren’t thrilled with the idea, even though Kevin Bacon was potty trained and stayed indoors, like a dog.
Tony, who grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, had spent a lot of time remodeling their house in a subdivision in Plainfield, Illinois, and in 2015 sold it for the highest price in their neighborhood.
But trying to find a new home closer to their work was a problem because of Kevin Bacon.
Eventually, they found a small house with about 3 acres of land in unincorporated Elburn, Illinois. It was sectioned off from a working farm at that time, and it came with 1 acre of an already prepared field.
Tony said that despite having no farm experience and not sure of what he wanted to do, he Googled what was the best crop to grow on a micro farm.
The results consisted of lavender or garlic, he said. At that time, they had no idea what to do with lavender, but they definitely enjoyed garlic and knew it had incredible health benefits.
For the first four years of their business, they would work full time, then head home and work at Garlic Breath Farm.
That proved exhausting and straining, they said, and in 2019, Tony quit his job with the federal government in order to work at Garlic Breath Farm full time. They said they were curious to see how the business would do if at least one of them working at it full throttle, and they also wanted to start growing their own food for health and sustainability reasons.
Today Sharon still works full time, then focuses on the business’ back-end stuff after work and on weekends. They also work at farmers markets or craft shows most weekends.
Helpers are hired during the summer season, for which they are grateful. Tony said they hope to attract a Veteran workforce to help folks use the serenity of their farmland in easing or healing some of the Veterans’ struggles.
Garlic remains their main crop, though they also grow tomatoes and peppers, along with a few other plants to fulfill their health and sustainability goals.
Tony, a disabled Navy Veteran, and Sharon have a roadside farm stand under construction that they plan to open in the spring.
Tony Pfreschy plants garlic at the start of the season. Garlic Breath Farm has a variety of garlic, and they also grow a few other vegetables for themselves.
Homegrown By Heroes
After Tony was certified as a Homegrown By Heroes-certified producer they revamped their Garlic Breath Farm sign displayed at the markets by adding the Homegrown By Heroes logo.
“By simply having that up on display,” Sharon said, “it has created so much valuable conversation with folks in our community — from people simply taking the time to thank Tony for his service all the way to having other Veterans know that they have ‘someone who gets it.’”
When the conversation becomes Veteran-centered, Sharon takes over operating the booth so that Tony and the other Veteran can connect.
But when it comes to public speaking, that’s where Sharon shines. They work together on the content, then Sharon is the one to speak at the public events.
Recently she gave a talk on growing garlic at Elgin Community College. Prior to that, she has given numerous talks on the business aspects of owning a small farm. With the target audience being other farmers who might want to grow their business to a six-figure farm, even if that farm is a party of one or two, their passion is to help others, both said.
The farm is on MarketMaker to help sell their products.
Tony likes working for himself, he said, being able to set own hours and priorities. Sharon, on the other hand, is all about budgeting and appreciates having an additional income to help meet their personal financial goals. As the business grows, they both hope they can work side by side full time in the future.
A weekly post by the Taylor Swift-obsessed Kevin Bacon, Sharon’s pet pig, adds a fun component to the Garlic Breath Farm Facebook page.
Social Media Fun
They also love to poke fun, as evidenced by their “Deep Thoughts with Kevin Bacon” weekly posts on Facebook
Tony said “Deep Thoughts” is “all Sharon; that is her Taylor Swift-obsessed pig. ‘Deep Thoughts with Kevin Bacon’ was previously a daily social media post on Kevin’s personal account that entertained Sharon’s affinity for random facts. It is now a once-a-week fact post under the Garlic Breath Farm social media accounts with a weekly rant of despise for Travis Kelce.”
In those posts, Tony and Kevin are arch enemies, with Tony often joking that he and Kevin have only two things in common: food and Sharon.
They both enjoy the wholesomeness of the farm work and providing nutritious and high-quality food to their community. The couple is passionate about giving, and provides food to a local food pantry, as well as hosting cooking shows at that food pantry for community members.
To connect with them or to check their markets and events page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/garlicbreathfarm1
