And so in January 2016, the duo purchased an overrun junkyard at 2001 2nd Avenue South in the Warehouse Arts District for $125,000 to house their new venture — Brick Street Farms. After months of environmental inspections, permitting and zoning obstacles, and electrical and plumbing issues, Brick Street Farms kicked off their first grow cycle inside three 320 square foot shipping containers in October 2016.

Backed by proprietary technology developed by Brad and Shannon, Brick Street Farms is now able to produce the equivalent of 2-3 acres of agriculture per shipping container. The farm cultivates a variety of leafy greens including heads of bibb, butterhead and romaine lettuce, kale, basil, and rainbow chard.

Best of all, the growing process uses no dirt, no pesticides and much less water than traditional farming. Needless to say, their concept caught the attention of many local residents, and restaurants, such as the Vinoy, Oak & Ola, Oxford Exchange, and Pacific Counter.

For the past three years, Brick Street Farms has been feverishly trying to keep up with production. “When we started, we really just thought we’d be a wholesale production facility to grow and sell to restaurants, and maybe grocery stores,” says O’Malley. "But the level of interest and inquiries we get from everyone from chefs to elementary schools, we realized we couldn’t be closed off to the public.”