Blackberry Farm Foundation 2015 Grants News Releases

(Walland, TN; February 3, 2016)- The Blackberry Farm Foundation and Maryville City Schools will work together this year to create a new culinary classroom and Café le Reve at the former Downtown Autobody building as part of a $180,000 grant provided by the foundation in 2015.

“Maryville City Schools took the initiative to purchase a building to house its culinary arts program after receiving support from the foundation in 2014,” said Blackberry Farm Proprietor Sam Beall. “That initiative along with Maryville’s plan to be able to share the world of culinary arts with its students through culinary classes as well as Café le Reve was a huge motivation for our foundation’s donation. We are honored to be able to assist Maryville City Schools with this very special project.”

Our partnership with Blackberry Farm will allow us to use our Café LeReve model as a basis for creating a new and greatly expanded culinary experience for our students, staff, and this community.

In addition to providing monetary support, Blackberry Farm’s team of chefs, artisans, designers and builders will work with Maryville City Schools to help create a layout and design for the new culinary classroom and Café le Reve space as well as provide assistance with menu planning, demonstrations and other culinary related needs.

“2016 will be exciting for our high school culinary staff and students. The opportunity to equip an industrial kitchen, create a technology-enabled classroom/laboratory, and design a fully functioning restaurant is a once in a lifetime experience. We greatly appreciate the trust and investment from Blackberry Farm and anticipate an outcome that will reflect the high expectations of both organizations.”

The plan is to open the new building in January 2017. Once open, the new building will house a larger Café le Reve, culinary classroom, and a fast casual service, which will happen later in the year.

“Our partnership with Blackberry Farm will allow us to use our Café LeReve model as a basis for creating a new and greatly expanded culinary experience for our students, staff, and this community. As this program grows and students see the future opportunities that exist with culinary training, having real-world experience in a state-of-the-art facility will pave the way for future success. We are looking forward to working with the professionals at Blackberry to make this program and our new facility the very best it can be.”

A number of other local charities including New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center, The Boys & Girls Club of Blount County, and Harmony family center received grants from the Blackberry Farm Foundation for a total of $275,000 donated in 2015.