babas on cannon is a Charleston neighborhood café inspired by the old-world cafés and bars of Europe, but firmly rooted in the products and people of the Southeast. Founded by Marie Stitt and Edward Crouse, Babas has grown from its original Cannon Street location to three neighborhood cafés on Cannon, Meeting, and Wentworth. From morning espresso and house-made pastries to lunch, aperitivo, cocktails, and wine, the cafés are built around exceptional ingredients served in a welcoming environment.

Babas actively seeks out high-quality ingredients from the Southeast, with menus that change with the seasons and feature products from regional producers—including eggs and dairy from local farms.

Bedrock Wine Co is a California winery known for its historic vineyards, old-vine wines, and deep commitment to thoughtful farming. Winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson and the Bedrock team work with some of California’s most treasured ancient vineyards, preserving sites that represent generations of agricultural history and some of the state’s most distinctive expressions of place.

Regenerative agriculture is central to Bedrock’s work. Its flagship Sonoma vineyard is both Organic and Regenerative Organic Certified, and the team applies the same principles across its vineyard portfolio: diverse cover crops, minimal soil disturbance, animal integration, habitat creation, and practices designed to rebuild soil biology, improve water retention, and sequester carbon.

Big Table Farm is the Oregon farm, winery, and creative project of winemaker Brian Marcy and artist Clare Carver. After moving from Napa to the Willamette Valley in 2006, the couple began building a working farm and winery around their shared love of wine, food, animals, and the land. Today, their 70-acre farm is home to vineyards alongside pasture-raised pigs, sheep, goats, cows, free-range hens, draft horses, beehives, and seasonal vegetables.

Regeneration is at the heart of the farm. Big Table Farm is developing a managed intensive grazing system designed to build soil, sequester carbon, and create a healthy, diverse ecosystem where animals, crops, water, and vines work together. Their wines are an expression of that special place, and of the belief that farming and winemaking are deeply connected.

Chubby Fish has become one of Charleston’s most celebrated restaurants by keeping its focus remarkably simple: extraordinary seafood, creative cooking, and an ever-changing menu driven by what local fishermen and farmers bring through the door each day. Chef James London has built the restaurant around relationships, seasonality, and an adventurous spirit.

By purchasing directly from local fishermen and regional producers whenever possible, Chubby Fish supports a more transparent and resilient food system. Its commitment to sourcing with intention reflects a belief that the best meals begin with healthy ecosystems and the people who care for them.

The Eyrie Vineyards helped put Oregon Pinot Noir on the map. Founded in 1965 by David Lett, often called the father of Oregon Pinot Noir, Eyrie has spent decades proving that exceptional wine begins with healthy soils, patient farming, and a deep respect for place. Their wines are known for elegance, balance, and expressing the unique character of the Willamette Valley.

Long before sustainability became a buzzword, Eyrie was farming with nature instead of against it. Their estate vineyards are certified organic and have never relied on herbicides, pesticides, irrigation, or routine tillage. By prioritizing biodiversity, living soils, and careful handwork, Eyrie demonstrates that thoughtful stewardship creates healthier vineyards and more expressive wines.

Since opening in 2003, FIG (Food Is Good) has helped define Charleston’s modern culinary identity. Chef Mike Lata and partner Adam Nemirow built the restaurant around a simple philosophy: exceptional ingredients, thoughtfully prepared, with an unwavering commitment to seasonality.

FIG has long championed relationships with local farmers, fishermen, ranchers, and artisans, helping create a stronger regional food economy while showcasing the best of the Lowcountry. By sourcing close to home whenever possible and celebrating ingredients at their seasonal peak, FIG demonstrates how restaurants can support more resilient agricultural communities and a healthier food system.

Founded in Birmingham in 2002, Jones Valley Teaching Farm (JVTF) uses food and farming as a foundation for education, leadership, and community development. What began as an urban farm has grown into a nationally recognized food-education organization operating eight Teaching Farms and hydroponic classrooms across Birmingham City Schools. Through its flagship Good School Food program, students connect food, farming, and culinary arts with academic learning and real-world skills.

For JVTF, growing food is ultimately about growing people and strengthening communities. Its teaching farms give young people hands-on experience with where food comes from while creating greater connection to soil, agriculture, health, and food systems, and ultimately foster the next generation of farmers and food leaders.

The Los Angeles River Wine Company, also known as The Scholium Project, is the longtime wine project of winemaker Abe Schoener. Founded in 1999, Scholium approaches wine less as a formula and more as an ongoing experiment in place, fermentation, and the relationship between grape and environment. Over more than two decades, Schoener has worked with distinctive vineyards and unusual varieties to make wines that are expressive, intellectually curious, and deliberately unconventional.

Rather than imposing a predetermined style on the fruit, Scholium’s wines are intended to reveal the character of their vineyards and vintages. Scholium and Living Roots share a belief that the best products begin with honoring both the land and the people who work it.

Steve and Jill Matthiasson are among the leading voices in regenerative viticulture, producing distinctive Napa Valley wines rooted in healthy soils and ecological farming. Their approach blends scientific expertise with decades of hands-on experience, resulting in wines that are vibrant, balanced, and unmistakably connected to the land.

For the Matthiassons, regenerative farming means far more than organic certification. Their vineyards emphasize cover crops, biodiversity, habitat restoration, carbon reduction, renewable energy, and social responsibility, showing that thriving ecosystems and exceptional wines go hand in hand.

Phelan Farms is a 33-acre vineyard on California’s Central Coast, founded by celebrated winemaker and sommelier — and Living Roots co-founder — Rajat Parr. Located in Cambria, the vineyard is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a collection of Jura and Savoie varieties, including Trousseau, Gamay, Poulsard, Mondeuse, and Savagnin, that thrive in the region’s marine climate and distinctive shale and clay soils.

Phelan Farms’ philosophy is deeply rooted in regenerative farming. The vineyard is dry-farmed without irrigation or chemicals, with sheep grazing among the vines and cover crops helping build soil health and biodiversity. Raj’s goal is simple: to leave the land more alive than he found it. In the cellar, that same philosophy translates to native-yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, and wines bottled by hand without fining or filtration.

Sequatchie Cove Farm is a certified organic farm nestled in Tennessee’s Sequatchie Valley, where rich soils and thoughtful stewardship come together to produce exceptional vegetables, flowers, grains, and livestock. Working in partnership with chefs, restaurants, and their local community, the farm has become a model for diversified agriculture rooted in quality rather than scale.

The farm’s holistic approach prioritizes soil health, biodiversity, crop diversity, and responsible land management, recognizing that resilient farms begin beneath our feet. Their work demonstrates how regenerative principles can strengthen local food systems while producing ingredients that reflect the character of the land they come from.

Founded in 1999 by acclaimed Southern author, journalist, and civil rights advocate John Egerton, the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting, studying, and celebrating the diverse food cultures of the American South. Through oral histories, films, publications, events, and educational programs, SFA preserves the stories of the farmers, fishers, pitmasters, cooks, and artisans whose work shapes Southern food traditions.

SFA recognizes that food is about far more than what’s on the plate — it’s about culture, community, history, and the people who care for the land. Their work regularly highlights producers who practice thoughtful stewardship, protect regional food traditions, and help build a more sustainable and equitable food system across the South.

Opened in 2012 by Chef Mike Lata and Adam Nemirow of FIG, The Ordinary is a Southern seafood hall and oyster bar housed in a beautifully transformed former bank on Charleston’s King Street. The restaurant celebrates the “merroir” of the East Coast, with a menu centered around oysters, fish, shellfish, and other seafood from the region.

The Ordinary’s approach begins with relationships. The restaurant actively supports local and regional fishermen, crabbers, oystermen, farmers, and producers, allowing the character of the coast to shape what’s on the plate. That emphasis on local waters, seasonal availability, and the people who make their living from them reflects a broader commitment to a resilient regional food system.

Vern’s is an award-winning neighborhood restaurant on Charleston’s Bogard Street built around seasonal cooking, thoughtful sourcing, and a deep appreciation for the people behind the ingredients. Helmed by husband-and-wife team Dano and Bethany Heinz, the restaurant’s menu changes daily, reflecting what is available from the farmers, fishermen, and producers they work with.

That same philosophy extends to Vern’s wine program, which highlights producers who favor low-intervention farming and winemaking and share the restaurant’s values around sustainability, organics, and quality over quantity. It’s an approach rooted in relationships, intention, and choosing ingredients and wines from people who care deeply about how they farm, make, and produce.