College project + community focus = growing success for Eno River Farm

In fall, it’s pumpkins and hayrides. For winter, the holidays are on display. In spring, Eno River Farm boasts a ride array of U-Pick fruits, a staple of North Carolina agritourism.

"We've got pick-your-own strawberries. We've got our greenhouse full of hanging baskets, potted plants, vegetables, herbs, vegetable plugs, succulents and just about everything you can imagine for bedding plants," described Keegan Czesak, the owner and general manager of Eno River Farm.

Agriculture roots run deep in Czesak's family. The 24-year-old was born in Wilmington, but helped at his grandparents’ farm on Virginia's eastern shore.

"I was, from a very young age, around large-scale farming [and] commercial farming," he explained. "At the age of 16, I decided to move up to the eastern shore [of] Virginia to see if that's something that I wanted to get involved with year-round, other than the short summer months that I was exposed to it."

Czesak said that after realizing agriculture was the profession he wanted to go in, he went to Virginia Tech University to study agriculture management.

Eno River Farm started as a concept for a class Czesak's senior year to come up with a mock plan for a agriculture business.

"Having that as a project, it really made me think about the ins and outs of every component of a business," said Czesak.

After graduation, Czesak said he was torn, at first, about putting his mock business plan into real life. A trip to Cape Town, South Africa, helped make that decision.

"Being there was kind of the defined moment of, OK, this is what I actually want to do," he explained.

While visiting, Czesak said he saw people sleeping behind large piles of rubble after neighborhoods had been bulldozed to make room for larger homes.

"It made me realize if I go back to the large-scale farming, it's like, who are you helping? Who are you making an impact on?" Czesak said. "Seeing all that stuff, actually there in front of me, it was the perfect analogy of how I could make an impact on something."

Czesak's mock business focused on being community-oriented, and so does the actual-business Eno River Farm.

"I want [people] to have quality experiences, but the community, I want to have the quality relationships with the community, and I want to sell quality products to the community," he explained. “I don't want to just make a sale, I want to sell an experience."

Czesak's goal of community-based farming also drives his desire to give teenagers a different employment experience.

"We are run, operated and designed all by kids," said Czesak, adding that 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds are helping to manage the farm's store, balance the cash register, make bank transactions and deliveries.

Eno River Farm opened in March of last year, at nearly the same time the coronavirus pandemic began. Despite the timing, Czesak said that the community has welcomed the farm with open arms.

"It's been very overwhelming -- the support, the generosity and the word of mouth," he added.

From U-Pick fruits, ice cream made fresh daily, plants available to purchase, live music and food trucks, Czesak said that Eno River Farm offers something for all its visitors.

"The Triangle was a perfect fit for it because there's a lot of people in this area that believe in the same thing that we believe in," he said.

The farm, located at 2127 St. Mary's Road, is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.