I don’t know if you’ve ever had the treat of traveling to Beckwourth, Calif. in Sierra Valley, but the expansive vistas and acres of undeveloped land are awe-inspiring in a way very different from that of the Tahoe landscape. At just 45 miles north of Truckee, the ranch deserves a road trip.
A few weeks ago I traveled to Beckwourth to attend a dinner at Sierra Valley Farms hosted by Gary Romano, Mark Estee, and Mike Trombetta — a powerhouse trio in the greater Truckee/Tahoe area’s food world: Estee is a Reno restaurateur, and Trombetta is a personal chef and owner of the catering service Farm to Belly. And Romano? I’ll get to him later. The Dinner in the Barn is one of many summer events Romano hosts to get folks out to his farm. Proceeds from his summer series subsidize the costs of running a farm.
Arriving late, after one-too-many games of corn hole nearby at The Brewing Lair, I walked into the scene of Romano’s charismatic dinner introduction. Speaking to a crowd of 80 at the location of his weekly farmer’s market, he gushed about his love for this land, his new (now two years running) project growing hops for The Brewing Lair, and his relationship with his father, Lou, who will turn 90 this year. Lou is still an active member of Sierra Valley Farms: He bought himself a new tractor at age 88.
So, you’ve seen Gary, and maybe Lou, at a local farmers market, or perhaps you’ve gone to one of the events at the farm, but how much do you really know about the Romano family history? How does a family with roots in cut flowers and cattle ranching end up with an organic produce farm at 4,911 feet?
A third generation Italian immigrant, Romano, who has a degree in parks and recreation from Cal Poly, has deep-seeded roots in the farming industry. In the ’20s his grandfather immigrated to Redwood City, Calif. from Campeggi, Italy, and opened G. L. Romano Wholesale Florist with his new bride.
Separate from the cut flower business, Gary’s maternal grandparents bought land in Beckwourth in 1920 and started a dairy, cattle, and hay farm. The Sierra Valley — the largest alpine valley in the western hemisphere — has always had a large concentration of Swiss Italian immigrants.
Fast-forward, and after a successful run on the farm capped with a series of misfortunes the 3,000-acre farm dwindled to 65 acres. In 1990 Gary bought the old farm from his aunt and uncle and ran the land as a nursery but commuted to Beckwourth from his home in Tahoe City.
“My roots came back,” Gary said as to why he decided to trade his life in Tahoe for one on the farm.
In 1997 Gary left his job at the Truckee Parks and Recreation department and moved to the farm full-time. This timing coincided with his father Lou’s retirement from the flower business and so he bought a bunch of leftover equipment from his “pops” and after an inspiring dinner with Mark Estee, Gary saw the future of the farm — produce.
He started out simple with lettuce and carrots but then, as he got to know his land and his clientele, Gary began working with chefs and growing popular ingredients like arugula for their restaurants and for the local farmers markets.
Today the farm — celebrating its 20th anniversary next year — yields a little bit of everything that its 65 acres will support, from beets to radishes to spring lettuce mix. All of the crops have been CCOF certified organic since 1999, well before farmers markets were trending and organic was a buzz word.
