3 Sisters Garlic is a passion project that has manifested into a booming business with loads of hard work, dedication, perseverance, and well…garlic!
The business is run by Jennifer & Mike Di Pasquale and named after their 3 daughters who have been part of the business since the beginning. Speaking of that, how does a passion for garlic growing and cultivating begin? At the Garlic Festival, of course!
“We were at the Garlic Festival walking through It must have been about eight years ago and my husband was like, ‘this sounds like something fun to do.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know about this.’ But it’s grown. From that we bought a little bit of garlic and just replanted and watched it grow,” said Jennifer.
The business has grown from doing farmer’s market, to being a vendor in the Garlic Festival two years ago, and to now having a storefront with over 200 garlic products in their inventory including fresh spices, specialty pastas, balsamic vinegars and a bakery with a slew of fresh bread options.
“With our fresh garlic that we grow, the garlic that we don’t replant we dehydrate and we put into our fresh spices. We do peppered garlic, steak rubs, black garlic, and black garlic hummus. We make a lot of fresh products with our garlic also. Our new featured item is our three cheese roasted garlic dip. My youngest twin daughter, she makes the best pesto,” said Jennifer.
This all-natural product is grown on the 3 acre Di Pasquale Farm on lush garlic loving soil which in the Town of Cambria in Niagara County. While not certified organic, organic practices are utilized for all products on the Farm. Each bulb is planted from organically grown seed in late October and lovingly tended until harvest in late June and July.
The garlic is carefully removed from the soil, inspected and hung within our drying barn until cured. Each bulb is then cleaned, inspected and readied for sale. Our growing practices and attention to detail yield gourmet garlic that retains all of its natural health benefits and exceptional flavor.
“A lot of people go to the grocery store and buy their garlic not knowing it’s not fresh garlic, and then they get a taste of the fresher and their like, ‘holy moly.’ We’re not certified organic, but we’re the closest you can be. We don’t use any pesticides, it’s all natural. You know, our weed block is mulch leaves and stuff like that.”
This is an entire family affair, and Jennifer said that her three daughters are more than happy to do the hard work it takes to make their products. She hopes that this instills a new appreciation for entrepreneurship at a younger age, especially as they plan to open up another location this summer at Olcott Beach.
In order to take these next steps in the business, the 3 Sisters Garlic team is using SMBX to raise $50,000 for new equipment, working capital, and property improvements. The crowdfunding portal SMBX is the Small Business Bond marketplace that connects small business owners with everyday investors in their community and throughout the country.
The team is the first WNY business to seek investments on the SMBX marketplace, but other area small businesses are working with SMBX to issue Small Business Bonds. This means, businesses can borrow money from retail investors at competitive rates for as little as $10, raising the funds needed to expand their business. The Small Business Bond is a loan repaid monthly to investors, and owners retain 100% ownership of their businesses.
The demand to invest in this business has been high, with 125 investors exceeding the businesses investment goal by over $12,000.
“My oldest daughter, she’ll be 16, she’s already said ‘Oh, I want this as my business.’ So they know nothing’s free, you work for it. I have total faith in my daughters, they have every knowledge of every product, they’ve been here making the products with me, they know all the ingredients,” said Jennifer.
With the unstoppable attitude of the Di Pasquale family, there is no telling where this garlic business will grow!
During the slower winter months, the store located at 4078 N Ridge Rd. in Lockport is open three days a week, Thursday through Saturday from 11am until 6pm. Their products can also be found at Rustic Buffalo, 6610 Shawnee Rd, North Tonawanda, NY 14120.
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