Morris is Now Home to Litchfield County’s First Food Park 

By Charles Dubow

Exciting things are happening in Morris. At the crossroads of Rts. 109 and 63 there has been a surge of activity over the past few years. Long home to Don Giovanni Pizza, Finellis Restaurant & Bar, and Bella Luna Gifts, The Wise Old Dog, a high-end wine and spirits store, opened there in 2022, and recently BritsBrand bakery opened its first commercial kitchen. And, beginning in June, the brains behind wedding and event space The White Barn at South Farms, Ben Paletsky and Sarah Worden, debuted their latest project, Litchfield County’s first food park, Pasture. 

Located on farmland owned by Ben’s family for four generations, Pasture is comprised of three food trucks: Iron & Grain, serving wood-fired food such as barbecue, bleu cheese burgers and turkey sliders, as well as local craft beers and signature cocktails; chef Tyler Anderson’s Ta-Que, serving classic Tex-Mex tacos, burritos, and smoked meats with a twist; and Granby-based Grassroots, scooping up creative New England-style ice cream in such unique flavors as Rose, Chocolate, and Goat Cheese Black Berry. 

“We wanted to have a nice range of food offerings,” says Ben. “A lot of food trucks are getting tired of having to drive around and are looking for a more permanent base. That’s what we are giving them. We’ve cleared enough room to accommodate 40 parking spots and seating for up to 100 people.” If the Pasture is a success, there is a chance that it will expand to more trucks and more parking. 

Both Pasture and The White Barn were born out of Ben’s desire to help keep his farm going. “It’s increasingly difficult for these old family farms to survive,” he says. “Politics over the last half-century have been devastating to the farm economy. There used to be 40 dairy farms in the area. Now it’s almost zero.”

While it is still a working farm, in 2015 he and Sarah re-imagined South Farms as a hip event space. “Both Ben and I have a background in design,” Sarah says. “After he moved back with his family and I found myself living here, we teamed up.” The old dairy barn has been beautifully converted into a kitchen and bar area and the old equestrian center is now a vast dining space. “We can easily host up to 150 people for weddings, conferences, any kind of event you want to do. And we can do it year-round.”

Behind this space is a garage that has been transformed into a woodland wedding chapel and a large field where on Thursday evenings between June and September they host South Farms Social, where people can come and spread a blanket, have a picnic, and listen to live music. If they don’t want to bring their own meals, Pasture’s food trucks are only a short walk away.

“Ben and Sarah reached out to me about doing a food park,” says Tate Nordin, who founded Iron & Grain in 2015. He has plenty of experience in the business, having opened West Hartford’s first food park, Gastro Park, an “indoor/outdoor foodie playground” in 2020. It didn’t take much convincing. “It’s a win-win,” Nordin says. “Pasture is a casual laid back experiential dining concept where people can choose their own adventure, whether they are looking for a quick lunch or want to make an afternoon or an evening of it.” 

Everyone in town is excited about Pasture. “It’s great that the town has been so flexible about allowing all this to happen,” says Jacob Studenroth, owner of The Wise Old Dog. “It’s really putting Morris on the map.”

Pasture will be open June through October, Thursdays 5 – 8 pm, Friday – Sunday 12 – 6 pm.

2 Watertown Road, Morris, southfarmspasture.org