A downtown Akron company that was started in late 2014 by two young men who wanted to be part of the restaurant industry without giving up all of their nights and weekends has seen explosive growth in the demand for its fresh-grown basil, lettuce and microgreens.

Vigeo Gardens, which grows its crops in an indoor, highly controlled, chemical-free environment in downtown Akron and delivers its products fresh to area restaurants, grocery stores and food distributors, had about $23,000 in sales the first year. In year two, sales were $250,000, and they are on pace to be at least $750,000 in 2017, said Vincent Peterson, the company's chief executive officer.

"We believe the facility could yield $2 million to $3 million in sales once it is fully operational," said Jacob Craine, chief marketing officer.

The huge growth is the result of matching good science with innovative ideas and hard work. Craine said he, Peterson and Mark Preston, chief operating officer, routinely put in 80 to 100 hours a week.

This journey all started when Craine, 26, and Peterson, 25, friends since kindergarten, grew their first crop of microgreens in Craine's basement in 2014.

"Everyone thought we were crazy, but we had been working in the restaurant industry for a number of years and really enjoyed it, and wanted to find a way that we could stay in the industry without working the off-schedule from the rest of the world that most people in the restaurant industry do," Craine explained.

Their initial idea was to develop a line of microgreens for people who were in particular need of the high-nutrient boost they provide, such as chemotherapy patients.

"But we quickly found out that it takes a lot to get into the hospital market, so we switched gears for the moment and have been focusing on the culinary industry, which is something that we knew," he said.

Initially, they called the company Plantscription, but changed it to Vigeo Gardens in 2015. Vigeo means to thrive in Latin, not just survive, Craine pointed out.

"That's kind of the motto of our company," he said.

To get out of Craine's basement, the pair moved into the Akron Global Business Accelerator, where they connected with Preston, 27, who has an aerospace engineering degree from Ohio State University and experience in the hydroponics industry. His skills helped create their first vertical "rack," a platform on which they grow their crops, in a 1,000-square-foot space.

The trio was then able to raise funding from a private investor and add five more racks, but they were still uncertain if their idea was scalable. Clearly it was, though, as six months later, in August 2016, they moved to even larger space — 6,000 square feet on the third floor of the accelerator that now holds 37 racks. This was funded through the same private investor as well as a bank loan. Craine estimates that the two steps represent a combined investment of about $400,000.

Just over a year later, this expansion is now in the "finishing touches" phase. Most racks are operational, and the few remaining dormant ones are being activated as needed to meet demand.

Today, the company has six full-time employees and several part-time workers, mostly farming jobs and one sales position, in addition to the three partners.