Residents of the West Side of Cleveland will soon have two new options for buying fresh, local produce and other products, thanks to local produce stand Farm Dog Fresh.
Farm Dog Fresh, which sells produce from its farm stand in the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland, is expanding to open two new locations: one in Lakewood at 17112 Madison Avenue, and one in Avon Lake at 33479 Lake Road.
“Most of our produce gets picked on Friday, and then sold Saturday and Sunday, so it doesn’t get too much fresher than that,” says Farm Dog Fresh owner Riley Meyer. “I think people really like to have that option instead of going to the grocery store, where produce can be sitting for weeks sometimes. You don’t know where it’s coming from, and the quality is just not as good.”
As a youth in Baltimore, Maryland, Meyer worked on a farm owned by family friends and learned the nuts and bolts of how to run a produce stand. When he moved to Cleveland several years ago, he noticed that there weren’t many places in the city to buy fresh, local produce.
Meyer began building relationships with local farms and offering a small CSA subscription. Then, in April 2024, when his wife, Grace Meyer, bought Studio West Park, a yoga studio located at 15903 West Park Road in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, Meyer set up his farm stand just outside the yoga studio on Saturdays and Sundays.
“It’s nice for the community here, because you have the coffee shop [Five Points Coffee & Tea], you have Salon Love and then you have the yoga studio and the produce stand,” says Meyer. “So people like to make a nice little morning of getting their produce, doing some yoga and also getting some coffee.”
A Neighborhood Gathering Place
Longtime customer and West Park resident Jay Bell discovered Farm Dog Fresh’s West Park produce stand on his daily walks with his wife and enjoys supporting local farmers and having easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
“It’s a great benefit for the neighborhood. I just love seeing how bustling it is, with Five Points Coffee & Tea, and his produce stand there and then the yoga studio there, too. Those two businesses alone have made it a focal point of West Park,” says Bell. “It’s just great to see for the community. I see people walking dogs, pushing strollers. It’s just a good thing for the area, and it’s right in the heart of it there.”
Bell enjoys planning his meals for the week around the produce offered at Farm Dog Fresh, such as fresh eggs, tomatoes, garlic, corn, eggplant, cantaloupe, strawberries, peaches, blackberries and more – all in season and sourced from local farms.
At the West Park location, Meyer plans to host a Strawberry Fest on June 13 and 14, Peach Fest on August 8 and 9, and Pumpkin Fest on October 3 and 4.
“It’s just a nice way to get the community together, have some fun, and celebrate the local harvest that’s coming in,” said Meyer.
Bringing The Farm To The City
Meyer sources the produce he offers from local farmers and producers such as Bauman Orchards, a family-run farm in Rittman, Ohio, which has grown apples, peaches, blackberries and other produce since 1929.
Brett Bauman, who runs the farm together with his two brothers and father, says farm stands like Farm Dog Fresh are a great way to be able to get their produce to even more people than they can on their own.
“It’s nice to be able to supply produce to even more smaller farm markets,” says Bauman. “We’re always looking to share our produce with as many people as we can.”
In addition to selling their produce at their farm stands, Bauman Orchards supplies produce to other farm stands, grocery stores, markets, schools and other organizations, all over Ohio and beyond.
West Park resident Noah Perry says he loves having a farm stand in his neighborhood where he can buy fresh, nutritious local foods.
“For [Clevelanders], sometimes it’s hard to get fresh, local produce,” says Perry. “We need to take advantage of these produce stands for the four or five months out of the year that they’re open.”
“We’re just happy to be a part of [the community],” says Meyer. “And if we can save people a trip to the grocery store and provide a better product at a fair price, that’s something we’re interested in doing.”
Farm Dog Fresh’s West Park stand, located at 15903 West Park Road in Cleveland, is open Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. The Lakewood location is open Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., and the Avon Lake location is open Saturdays only, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m.
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