Top of the Rock goes local

When restaurant owner Jerry Fischer opened Top of the Rock Grille more than six years ago, he would?ve been the last to guess that both he and his restaurant would one day become champions of the local food movement.

A sandwich board beckons from the sidewalk west of the square, advertising the restaurant?s latest fare of herbed smoked local free-range chicken, and sweet n? spicy smoked barbecue ribs ? both purchased from Iowa farmers.

Fischer said business is good, with a growing customer base that likes the philosophy behind his food, but his success has been hard-won.

?When we opened the restaurant, we were failing big time,? he said. He and his wife Laura had invested in renovating the second story of their bar, The Red Rock, into a fine dining area with restored tin ceilings and refinished wood floors. But when he finally opened the restaurant, word traveled slowly. At the same time, Fischer was struggling personally.

?I was unhealthy, and smoking like a chimney,? he said. ?I decided to make some changes ? I wanted to be able to run up and down the stairs at the restaurant.?

One of his servers at the time had her own garden and introduced him to local food.

?She was so big on it, eventually she started brainwashing me into it too,? said Fischer wryly.

As Fischer introduced more local vegetables and free-range meats into his own diet, he started using them at the restaurant as well.

He soon found himself piggybacking off the growing popularity of a national movement. Local food sales have mushroomed in the last decade, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, and so have the numbers of farmers markets nationwide. In 2012 alone, the occurrence of markets increased by 9.6 percent, with more than 7,800 nationwide, 227 of which are in Iowa.

At first, Fischer sourced local food through his distributor, Hawkeye Foodservice Distribution. But he said Hawkeye?s willingness to work with local farms ebbed and flowed, and ultimately ended when Hawkeye was recently bought out by U.S. Foods in July.

Now Fischer said he prefers to work directly with farmers, many of whom he?s met at the Fairfield Farmers? Market. He buys chicken from Yoder?s Natural Farm in Bloomfield, goat cheese from The Cultured Goat in Fairfield, and buys vegetables seasonally, especially from farmers who use high tunnels to extend the growing season for tomatoes and greens.

?The local tomatoes are gorgeous,? he said. ?From a supplier, they?d be twice as expensive, and they?d be translucent and mealy.?

Fischer didn?t mince words when explaining the difficulties he has faced in trying to work with local farmers.

?Trying to switch to local can be like performing brain surgery while the patient is awake,? he said.

But in the same breath, he emphasized, ?We?re committed to it.?

Fischer said he works with his chefs to use whatever local ingredients are available for seasonal specials.

?We have to be flexible on our menu and specials,? he said. ?It?s hard for some local farms to supply to a restaurant on a regular basis ? It takes a lot of developing relationships with local farms.?

Where he expected resistance from his chefs, he was met instead with unanimous enthusiasm.

?They love it,? he said. ?? It makes them feel more like real chefs.?

The restaurant has expanded its local philosophy into the bar as well, stocking wine made in Batavia at Cedar Valley Winery, and local beers such as Peace Tree and Millstream from the Amana Colonies. During the summer, Fischer brings mint from his garden for bartenders to make local mint mojitos. He also recently began serving kombucha, a bubbly fermented tea, from a local vendor.

When Meghan Henderson stepped into Top of the Rock Grille in March to apply for a wait-staff position, she was prepared to answer all of the usual interview questions. She was surprised, however, when Fischer asked how she felt about serving food from local farms.

?I told him I thought it was awesome,? she said. ?It means supporting local people and giving them jobs.?

Fischer said he likes to keep staff who appreciate local food.

?I want them to be able to talk about it tableside and have some passion about it,? he said.

One more way he?s gained extra customers is from his local vendors themselves.

?They?re more apt to come in, and they tell people to come here as well,? he said. ?It?s nice, we can cross market.?