October 23, 2024 • 20 mins
In this engaging episode of Connect the Knox, host Julia Hurley sits down with Colleen Cruze, owner of Cruze Farm. They delve into the rich history and growth of Cruze Farm, starting from Colleen’s parents’ dairy farming roots to its present-day success with multiple ice cream shops and a pizza place. Colleen shares heartfelt stories about the family’s perseverance, community support, and the transition of the business across generations. The episode also highlights the deep-seated authenticity and commitment to local heritage that defines Cruze Farm, while discussing the latest ventures including a new event venue run by Colleen's mother. Listeners are treated to insights into the challenges and rewards of running a family farm and the importance of maintaining genuine connections with the community.
Show Highlights:
(00:00) - Intro
(00:54) - A little about Colleen and the background of Cruze Farm
(07:23) - The growth of Cruze Farm
(11:11) - Cruze Farm's new event venue
(12:27) - Ad - Just Homes Group
(13:29) - Where you can find all four Cruze Farm locations
(15:11) - Something people don't know about Cruze Farm
(18:15) - Cruz Farm's most popular items
(29:00) - Where you can find more from Colleen and Cruze Farm
Links Referenced:
- Cruze Farm’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruzefarm
Connect with ConnectTheKnox
- Follow the Podcast -
- iTunes
- Spotify
- Or wherever you listen to Podcasts
- Podcast Created With Riverside.fm
- Connect with Julia -
- Buy or Sell a home in Knoxville -
- Just Homes Realty Group: www.justhomesgroup.com
- Find my Home Buyers & Home Sellers Guide here: https://linktr.ee/thejuliahurley
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Welcome everybody to another episode of Connect the Knox.
I'm Julia Hurley, your host, Connecting Knoxville to the Nation.
Today's episode is with Colleen Cruze, owner and creator of
Cruze Farm, and I have so many things I personally want to
share with you all across the nation about this organization.
(00:29):
If you didn't see our TV series Selling Knoxville with them this episode,
please visit our YouTube channel and take a look at that wonderful entry
level conversation to Cruze Farm because it was only a five minute segment,
but I've got her for 30 minutes, so everybody please welcome Colleen Cruze.
Thanks, Julia.
(00:50):
I think you're great.
I think everything your family does is great.
I think everything you all do is great.
So please introduce yourself and start with the story of Cruze Farm.
So my name is Colleen Cruze.
Cruze Farm started with my parents, Earl and Sherry Cruze.
They got married back in 1980, and my dad's a fourth generation dairy farmer.
All the people in his side of the family milked cows.
(01:11):
That's all they knew how to do.
That's all they loved.
And so they just kept milking cows and passing it down to the next generation.
My dad had this dream to bottle milk.
He really wanted to just take the business a step
further, and put milk in a bottle with his name on it.
And he met my mom, and she is the biggest cheerleader.
And she said, "Hey, what's stopping you?"
So they worked really hard together, built
(01:32):
a bottling plant, just like brick by brick.
He laid all the, the blocks built, built the building.
Mom read all the rules and got the license,
and they started bottling milk back in 1981.
Yeah, so mom got the license to bottle milk.
So it took them one year.
They started bottling milk.
What happened after that?
They're like, okay, now how do we sell milk?
So they've tried to figure out how to sell milk.
(01:53):
They sold it door-to-door.
They sold it in grocery stores, and it was a struggle.
They ended up stop- they stopped bottling milk
because they weren't able to really make ends meet.
They always kept milking cows, and then eventually in 1992, they
started making ice cream, and they were like, "Oh, this is great."
Like people love ice cream.
My dad made the ice cream, my mom sold at the market, and
that's when I kind of was introduced to our business really.
(02:15):
I was about five years old and grew up in an ice cream shop and loved it.
Loved, um, making people happy with ice cream and meeting people
from all over the world and really fell in love with that.
My parents ended up closing the business
because they didn't have a lot of employees.
So it was like, my dad was at the farm all the time.
My mom was at the store and it just wasn't the best for their relationship.
(02:35):
They closed the store and just took it back to the farm and kept
bottling milk, but really just, very, very small amount of milk.
And I went to UT.
I moved to campus and they would call me and be like, "Hey,
can you come home on the weekends snd bottle of milk?"
So I did, I'd come help them, and, you know, I had thought about maybe
coming back after graduating, but thought the grass was greener out there
(02:57):
and didn't really find any greener grass, but really I just missed it.
I miss farm life.
I missed the physical work of farming and just being around my
family, and I also just getting to move to campus, I had- I was far
enough away to really appreciate what my parents had built and done.
They put a lot of work into this business and our family, a lot of love.
(03:19):
Um, dairy farming is a really unique culture.
When you grow up on a dairy farm, the cows are milked twice a day, every day.
It's milked- their milked before you eat
breakfast, before you open Christmas presents.
It's like, this is, it's a great way to raise a family.
It's a great way.
I loved growing up on the farm and the values that taught me.
I really wanted to continue what my parents had started.
And so I entered a business plan competition my senior year.
(03:41):
Well, that's exciting.
At UT?
Yes.
And so, um, it's through the Anderson Center, the Graves
Business Plan Competition, and I ended up winning $5,000.
I got first place.
And my dad was like, wow, he was really impressed.
And so he said, "You should name it Cruze Farm Girl."
And so I was like, okay.
You know, he was like, you should do this.
You should make ice cream.
(04:01):
I think it really proved to him a little bit when I won the competition,
and my mom was always cheering me on to do it the whole time.
So, the day I was supposed to walk at UT, I was churning
ice cream with my dad, and we made our first batch together,
and I took ice cream to the farmer's market and sold it.
And with that $5,000, I bought a pallet of
branded ice cream pints that were Cruze Farm Girl.
(04:21):
So that's a long story, but that's kind of how the
business kind of transitioned from my mom and dad to me.
Still, you know, it's a small business, but it's still changing and growing.
And I ended up meeting my husband not, uh, pretty, pretty soon
after that and he, uh, that was something I really wanted.
I wanted to get married and have kids, and I didn't see
how I was going to be able to carry on my dad's business,
(04:42):
but also like, you know, bringing a man into the business.
I just, it didn't see how it was all going to work together.
And it was, it did better than I could have
ever planned, and I really am thankful for that.
So, um, and I ended up hiring Manjit.
That's my husband, and he was my first cook in our food truck.
So he cooked the food, and I scooped the ice
cream, and we did that for several years.
(05:03):
And uh, then we had a baby, and then before I had our
second child, I was like, we've got to open a store.
Like we can't be going to the market every Saturday.
It's just, it's a lot to try to haul down and get, get it back.
And so we opened a pop-up shop, and that's
how we kind of learned how to run a shop.
That was on Union Avenue.
So downtown used to be just right, it's right next to JC Holdway Restaurant.
(05:26):
That was our first pop-up.
Yes.
I know that everybody watching this to have a clue at all,
what we're talking about, but I was like, I don't remember
this, but when you said I know exactly where you are.
Yes.
Yeah.
So we, I got a 10 week lease there to sell
ice cream and had no clue how to run a shop.
But it was like, let's just, I mean, I had been
doing the food truck, but it's, it's different.
And so I learned a lot and was able to kind of take what
(05:49):
I learned and opened another pop-up shop the next summer.
And then ended up opening a permanent store after the second pop-up shop ended.
And now we have, we have four ice cream shops and
a pizza place, and, um, and it's been a lot of fun.
It's been, it's been a good journey.
[laughs]
One of the best stories that I think I have
ever told about a business in Knoxville.
Meeting your family was genuinely like past meets future, and I don't
(06:15):
know if the experience that people across the country crave when
they come to the South, they want to see authenticity, they want to
see locality, they want to see people who are from here, stay here,
and be here, and teach them something, and be part of something.
And your family is one of those families that has literally been here
and started something and closed something and started something and
(06:37):
closed something and sacrificed to make sure that the rest of us,
who wake up every day and put Cruze Farm in our milk, or you know,
Cruze Farm milk in our coffee every morning, or we have a coffee
milk, which I should not be drinking, but I probably have four a week.
Um, it's [laughs] so good.
It's so good.
But the sacrifice that your family has made for the rest of us here to
(06:57):
enjoy this local, this local product, and you've built something out of it.
You've built a place that people can come and enjoy it.
And now the pizza parlor that you've built onto, which by the
way, is some of the best pizza I've had in Knoxville, and I
know that I'm not going to mention any other businesses name.
I know there's three here that other people swear by, but I'm telling
(07:18):
you if you've not had Cruze Farm Pizza, y'all are missing out.
So tell us a little bit about the growth of the farm.
I know you had the story that you told about having the idea of having
the store on the farm and how you actually listened to the locals.
Tell us the story of how that got created.
So one thing that's great about a farm is that you can't move it,
(07:39):
you know, so like I think when you're saying like about us like
staying in this area, it's like we're so rooted in this area we can
never really move this business, but because we haven't moved the
business I've really felt like the community has supported us so much.
Like every time we open a store I'm always so surprised that when people show
up on the first day like I'm like, overwhelmed with emotion, but it's like
the community really does support us, and that's just an amazing relationship.
(08:04):
So when I wanted to open a store, I was like,
I just assumed I would open it on the farm.
I didn't, I couldn't imagine anywhere else I would put a store.
I also didn't realize our neighbors didn't want it.
They were like, "Oh no, we don't want traffic.
No, no, no."
And so I was like, "Oh, I had no idea."
Um, I was, you know, kind of sad.
I was like, oh gosh, got my feelings hurt.
Like, y'all don't want me to put an ice cream shop right here.
(08:25):
We- y'all can come over and I'll make, you know, scoop ice cream for you.
And uh, no, no, we just, we don't want any more traffic.
So I was like, okay, I get it, and that, and I'm like, I, it is so important.
It's more important to have a good relationship
with your neighbors than to just do what you want.
So I was like, all right, we won't do it there.
That's really why I started in the farmer's market downtown
Knoxville was I was like, okay, I'll just go to the market.
(08:48):
And so I ended up building customers in downtown
Knoxville, and that store in downtown is our busiest store.
So I'm so thankful that our neighbors pushed me.
They challenged me.
I would have been really comfortable just opening a store on
the farm, but I don't think the business would have been able to
grow as it has if I hadn't, they hadn't pushed me to downtown.
Which I was a little scared to go downtown to a
(09:08):
new area, new community and sell ice cream to.
And, and they've, Um, Downtown responded really well to
us coming there and, um, met people from all over when,
you know, now that we have that community in Downtown.
So, we still don't have a store on the farm, and I don't plan to.
I think it's, um, it's probably better that way.
So, I'm, I'm glad that my neighbors challenged me, [laughs]
(09:31):
and, um, I'm glad that we listened to them.
Your farm, though, where the, where the ice cream shop is and the pizza shop.
It's not that far away.
It is not.
So it's the closest location to the farm, and it's in the Forks of the River.
So it's in an area that's very developed, but
all of this development used to be farmland.
So my dad actually grew up on this road, milking cows, and he would bring
(09:53):
me here as a child and be like, you know, "Look at that pile of rocks.
That's where I used to milk cows," and he would cry because he, like, missed.
He just, like, wanted to be able to walk out
there and show me exactly where he milked cows.
And so, because he was so sad about, you know, not being able to go
see where he grew up, he put a conservation easement on our farm.
So, we have 550 acres that's conserved that can never be developed.
(10:15):
And, you know, my parents hope is that we'll just
continue, they'll pass it on to the next generation.
They have 13 grandchildren, and they hope that,
they don't expect everyone to love farming.
It's not for everybody, but they assume someone at one of them, now 13,
[laughs] might want to farm, and there's a farm there for them to, um, to do it.
Because that is probably the biggest challenge of getting into farming is land.
(10:39):
Land is so expensive, and, um, you know, my dad was- he sacrificed a lot.
He, you know, he still, he just, he doesn't spend any money.
He just doesn't want anything, and so every penny he's
made, he saved and put it back into land, which seems
like it would be, um, it's a great idea, but it's hard.
It's harder to maintain land than people, it really is.
(11:01):
It really is.
So, but yeah, this location is really close to the farm and our neighbors.
See, the neighbors still get the ice cream.
It's not right on the farm.
Yes, everybody's happy.
So, tell us about the new venture you all have a, uh, an event venue.
Yeah.
So, okay.
My mom used to be kind of, I guess, I kind of took her job in a way,
(11:21):
I would say, where she was doing the marketing and bottling milk with
my dad, and then I took her job and she needed her own thing to do.
So she did.
She opened like a wedding venue on the farm, and she
absolutely loves helping people get married at the barn,
and I'm really happy for her that she's got this fun job.
My parents just love to work.
Work is fun.
(11:42):
So that's what she's been doing.
She's awesome.
She's been getting people married on the farm and it's real pretty.
You went there.
Yeah, everything about your farm is gorgeous.
The cows are gorgeous.
Everything, everything when we were there, I was just so impressed.
It was so beautiful.
The culture that your family has created in Knoxville and the way
that Knoxville has embraced your company has been really great to see.
(12:04):
Cause Knoxville's not always welcoming, you know, we don't love
everything, and watching Cruze Farm be a local farm, a local,
locally owned, locally farmed, everything is there, you create
all your own flavors, everything is so fresh, it's amazing.
Are you, are you gonna release a pumpkin?
Oh, absolutely.
Yes.
I'm on it.
I'm coming to visit.
We got some really good pumpkin ice cream.
(12:27):
We all know that real estate is location, location, location.
Our team at Just Homes Group has the true expertise
pairing buyers and sellers with the right opportunities.
Whether you're looking to buy or sell a home right here in Knoxville, Lenore
City, Clinton, or Farragut, we have the expertise throughout everything.
(12:51):
Knoxville surrounding area.
Call Just Homes Group today.
I loved when you mentioned authentic because, um, I didn't, I didn't
take any marketing classes, and I was talking to my mom, it was many
years ago about, like, marketing, and she was like, "People just want
authentic, Carleen," like, "just be, do you and do our, our family
(13:12):
and farm and just always be authentic and people will respond to it."
And she's right.
People really do crave just authenticity.
That woman has it together, let me tell you.
So, and you know, you lived with her, but I met her for a day,
and one of the most hidden gems of Knoxville, I would say.
And you're not very hidden.
You do have four amazing stores.
Tell everybody where those are.
(13:32):
Okay, the one you mentioned that's near the farm is in
the Forks of the River in East Knoxville off John Sevier
Highway, and this was our first store that we opened.
Then we opened a pizza place right next to it.
And then we opened our downtown Knoxville location,
which is our busiest store right on Gay Street.
We love being in the Miller's building.
Um, it's got a real fun, fun atmosphere there.
(13:54):
Then our, our third location we opened was Sevierville,
and that's, yeah, right across from Tanger Outlets.
That was fun because my parents always dreamed of owning a shop in
Sevierville, and we actually had a little store in the flea market growing up.
I used to love scooping ice cream in that flea market.
[laughs] and, um, so it's kind of cool that we now have a shop in Sevierville.
(14:15):
And then our last one is in Morristown.
You ever go up to Morristown much?
I do.
It is growing.
Morristown's got some really nice people.
We've got some really great employees up there that we just love.
I just love, I love your story.
I love everything about your family.
I love the farm.
I'm a little biased because I got to be on the farm and eat the
food, milk the cows, and really experience it, but I feel like that
(14:38):
is something that more people in Knoxville experience every day,
and they get to talk about it and they get to share that experience.
They get to share this local commodity with people from out of the area.
And I think you would be very surprised when I ask people
on this podcast, where's the one place that you take people
when they visit here that they don't know about or that that
(14:59):
is a secret, and Cruze Farm is always one of those places.
It's always on that list.
So I think that's really cool to have like that top five
list that Cruze Farm is always
one of those spots.
I love that.
Thank you.
Tell us something about you or your family or your
food or your ice cream that people may or may not know.
One thing is um, That's kind of surprising, I think,
(15:20):
is that we're the only dairy farm in Knox County.
And so I hate that because it's, I'd love, I wish
there was a bunch of dairy farms around here.
We would love to have a more of a community, really, of dairy farmers that we
could even, you know, work with if we ever wanted to grow the business further.
I've always, But the way to do it is not for us to milk more cows, but maybe to
find other dairy farming families that we could buy milk from and support them.
(15:44):
Because the issue with, you know, why dairy farms are
closing is they're not able to sell milk for enough
money to make it a break even or profitable business.
So you actually end up losing money dairy farming, and when you work that hard,
it's just, uh, that's, it's just kind of crazy to work that hard and lose money.
So I don't think a lot of people don't know that.
(16:05):
What else would they not know?
I don't know, but Jersey cows, we always do try to
talk about it, but I still don't know if they know.
Jersey cows are beautiful, like you said, beautiful brown cows, long eyelashes.
They're a smaller dairy breed.
So I think when people think of a dairy cow,
they think of the black and white, uh, Holsteins.
So like the Chick fil A mascot and they are
the most popular dairy cows in the country.
(16:28):
Because they give more milk since they're larger that the milk.
They just get more milk every day.
But our cows give a higher butter fat percentage than any
other dairy breed, which is perfect for making ice cream.
And so, and you can actually see the butter fat on top of the milk.
So, if you let the milk sit, it'll give you a better taste.
The cream floats to the top and you just shake it up.
(16:49):
So that's a, it's not homogenized.
I really like it.
I'd like to pour it off into my coffee.
Those are a couple of things I think people don't realize.
I think that they may think we're a larger business than we are.
We really are a small business and it's funny how I think you just don't
realize how when you look at a business, you might think it's a really
large business if they've got, you know, but we're just, we're pretty small.
(17:11):
We've got a lot of employees because they work.
A lot of part time employees.
They're students, so we've got a big team of over
100, but um, not that many of us work in full-time.
That's so many people to manage.
I mean, that's, that's a, that's a decent size space right there.
Yeah, and I love that we get to give people, a lot of people, their first job.
(17:33):
Sometimes we get employees who have worked somewhere else,
but a lot of times we get people coming in brand new.
And my husband, Manjit, we like had talked about this year with our team and
our leaders, like we have a responsibility of really teaching our employees how
to be professional, how, when it's time to quit, how to professionally quit.
(17:53):
Like, we really want to help set them up for their careers.
Like, okay, they can, we know they're not going to work here forever.
Like not everybody's going to swirl ice cream forever, and we want them to
have a good start and then go on and keep, you know, building on that career.
So, um, we've really focused on that this year on how we could do a
better job of really teaching and leading them into their careers.
(18:15):
What's your most sold ice cream flavor?
So actually sweet cream.
So our vanilla, we call it sweet cream, and it's most popular.
We, we have some crazy flavors.
Like we had last week Thai tea and ube at the downtown shop.
And you know, ube is like a purple, a purple yam.
Okay.
I'll try it.
(18:36):
I'll try anything.
I know it's delicious.
But those are like really unique, and like, I love having really fun flavors
that people can sample, but they'll end up just ordering sweet cream they love.
The sweet cream is like the just the classic.
Love it.
What's the most sold pizza topping other than cheese?
Definitely probably pepperoni, but I just,
you gotta put hot honey on everything.
That's what I do.
(18:56):
It's my favorite.
Delicious pizza.
I cannot stress enough people go to this.
Colleen, anything extra that you want to
add to say hello to everybody out there?
And especially again, this goes out to people across the nation.
Relocation, especially.
We've got about 3,000 new residents coming into
this area to work on the new energy summit.
So I know that they are going
to need a Cruze farm specialty
(19:18):
pop up maybe at the Oak Ridge Farmers Market, because
all 3,000 people are going to need your product.
Where can Find you.
Where can they get a hold of you?
Where can they, where can
they get Cruze Farm products?
We distribute to Nashville and Chattanooga and the Tri Cities.
If they need to figure out where to find us, they
should just email or send us a DM on Instagram.
We'd be happy to help them find how to, how
(19:39):
to get a hold of us and taste some yummy milk.
I literally just thought,
move into Cruze Farm.
Oh,
you're the best.
I absolutely loved having you on the podcast today.
Thank you for always taking time to promote your business and your
family and being local, staying local and being authentic and being
yourself and providing such an amazing product for everyone here.
(20:01):
We really appreciate your family and everything that they do.
Please hug your mom and dad for me.
They are fantastic.
Tell them I said hello.
And all 13 grandchildren, tell them, please stay.
Exactly.
Please, someone, keep milking cows.
Somebody.
Yeah, for the next generation.
Everybody, this has been an amazing episode of Connect the Knox.
I'm Julia Hurley, your host, and this
(20:22):
was Colleen Cruze, owner of Cruze Farm.
Thank
you so much for joining us today.
Until next time.
Bye!
Thanks, Julia.
Thank you for tuning into the show.
Make sure to like and subscribe.
Leave a five star review on your podcast player of choice.
And if you would like information on moving
to Knoxville, send me a private message.
(20:44):
As always, this is Julia Hurley connecting Knoxville to the nation.
Welcome everybody to another episode of Connect the Knox.
I'm Julia Hurley, your host, Connecting Knoxville to the Nation.
Today's episode is with Colleen Cruze, owner and creator of
Cruze Farm, and I have so many things I personally want to
share with you all across the nation about this organization.
(00:29):
If you didn't see our TV series Selling Knoxville with them this episode,
please visit our YouTube channel and take a look at that wonderful entry
level conversation to Cruze Farm because it was only a five minute segment,
but I've got her for 30 minutes, so everybody please welcome Colleen Cruze.
Thanks, Julia.
(00:50):
I think you're great.
I think everything your family does is great.
I think everything you all do is great.
So please introduce yourself and start with the story of Cruze Farm.
So my name is Colleen Cruze.
Cruze Farm started with my parents, Earl and Sherry Cruze.
They got married back in 1980, and my dad's a fourth generation dairy farmer.
All the people in his side of the family milked cows.
(01:11):
That's all they knew how to do.
That's all they loved.
And so they just kept milking cows and passing it down to the next generation.
My dad had this dream to bottle milk.
He really wanted to just take the business a step
further, and put milk in a bottle with his name on it.
And he met my mom, and she is the biggest cheerleader.
And she said, "Hey, what's stopping you?"
So they worked really hard together, built
(01:32):
a bottling plant, just like brick by brick.
He laid all the, the blocks built, built the building.
Mom read all the rules and got the license,
and they started bottling milk back in 1981.
Yeah, so mom got the license to bottle milk.
So it took them one year.
They started bottling milk.
What happened after that?
They're like, okay, now how do we sell milk?
So they've tried to figure out how to sell milk.
(01:53):
They sold it door-to-door.
They sold it in grocery stores, and it was a struggle.
They ended up stop- they stopped bottling milk
because they weren't able to really make ends meet.
They always kept milking cows, and then eventually in 1992, they
started making ice cream, and they were like, "Oh, this is great."
Like people love ice cream.
My dad made the ice cream, my mom sold at the market, and
that's when I kind of was introduced to our business really.
(02:15):
I was about five years old and grew up in an ice cream shop and loved it.
Loved, um, making people happy with ice cream and meeting people
from all over the world and really fell in love with that.
My parents ended up closing the business
because they didn't have a lot of employees.
So it was like, my dad was at the farm all the time.
My mom was at the store and it just wasn't the best for their relationship.
(02:35):
They closed the store and just took it back to the farm and kept
bottling milk, but really just, very, very small amount of milk.
And I went to UT.
I moved to campus and they would call me and be like, "Hey,
can you come home on the weekends snd bottle of milk?"
So I did, I'd come help them, and, you know, I had thought about maybe
coming back after graduating, but thought the grass was greener out there
(02:57):
and didn't really find any greener grass, but really I just missed it.
I miss farm life.
I missed the physical work of farming and just being around my
family, and I also just getting to move to campus, I had- I was far
enough away to really appreciate what my parents had built and done.
They put a lot of work into this business and our family, a lot of love.
(03:19):
Um, dairy farming is a really unique culture.
When you grow up on a dairy farm, the cows are milked twice a day, every day.
It's milked- their milked before you eat
breakfast, before you open Christmas presents.
It's like, this is, it's a great way to raise a family.
It's a great way.
I loved growing up on the farm and the values that taught me.
I really wanted to continue what my parents had started.
And so I entered a business plan competition my senior year.
(03:41):
Well, that's exciting.
At UT?
Yes.
And so, um, it's through the Anderson Center, the Graves
Business Plan Competition, and I ended up winning $5,000.
I got first place.
And my dad was like, wow, he was really impressed.
And so he said, "You should name it Cruze Farm Girl."
And so I was like, okay.
You know, he was like, you should do this.
You should make ice cream.
(04:01):
I think it really proved to him a little bit when I won the competition,
and my mom was always cheering me on to do it the whole time.
So, the day I was supposed to walk at UT, I was churning
ice cream with my dad, and we made our first batch together,
and I took ice cream to the farmer's market and sold it.
And with that $5,000, I bought a pallet of
branded ice cream pints that were Cruze Farm Girl.
(04:21):
So that's a long story, but that's kind of how the
business kind of transitioned from my mom and dad to me.
Still, you know, it's a small business, but it's still changing and growing.
And I ended up meeting my husband not, uh, pretty, pretty soon
after that and he, uh, that was something I really wanted.
I wanted to get married and have kids, and I didn't see
how I was going to be able to carry on my dad's business,
(04:42):
but also like, you know, bringing a man into the business.
I just, it didn't see how it was all going to work together.
And it was, it did better than I could have
ever planned, and I really am thankful for that.
So, um, and I ended up hiring Manjit.
That's my husband, and he was my first cook in our food truck.
So he cooked the food, and I scooped the ice
cream, and we did that for several years.
(05:03):
And uh, then we had a baby, and then before I had our
second child, I was like, we've got to open a store.
Like we can't be going to the market every Saturday.
It's just, it's a lot to try to haul down and get, get it back.
And so we opened a pop-up shop, and that's
how we kind of learned how to run a shop.
That was on Union Avenue.
So downtown used to be just right, it's right next to JC Holdway Restaurant.
(05:26):
That was our first pop-up.
Yes.
I know that everybody watching this to have a clue at all,
what we're talking about, but I was like, I don't remember
this, but when you said I know exactly where you are.
Yes.
Yeah.
So we, I got a 10 week lease there to sell
ice cream and had no clue how to run a shop.
But it was like, let's just, I mean, I had been
doing the food truck, but it's, it's different.
And so I learned a lot and was able to kind of take what
(05:49):
I learned and opened another pop-up shop the next summer.
And then ended up opening a permanent store after the second pop-up shop ended.
And now we have, we have four ice cream shops and
a pizza place, and, um, and it's been a lot of fun.
It's been, it's been a good journey.
[laughs]
One of the best stories that I think I have
ever told about a business in Knoxville.
Meeting your family was genuinely like past meets future, and I don't
(06:15):
know if the experience that people across the country crave when
they come to the South, they want to see authenticity, they want to
see locality, they want to see people who are from here, stay here,
and be here, and teach them something, and be part of something.
And your family is one of those families that has literally been here
and started something and closed something and started something and
(06:37):
closed something and sacrificed to make sure that the rest of us,
who wake up every day and put Cruze Farm in our milk, or you know,
Cruze Farm milk in our coffee every morning, or we have a coffee
milk, which I should not be drinking, but I probably have four a week.
Um, it's [laughs] so good.
It's so good.
But the sacrifice that your family has made for the rest of us here to
(06:57):
enjoy this local, this local product, and you've built something out of it.
You've built a place that people can come and enjoy it.
And now the pizza parlor that you've built onto, which by the
way, is some of the best pizza I've had in Knoxville, and I
know that I'm not going to mention any other businesses name.
I know there's three here that other people swear by, but I'm telling
(07:18):
you if you've not had Cruze Farm Pizza, y'all are missing out.
So tell us a little bit about the growth of the farm.
I know you had the story that you told about having the idea of having
the store on the farm and how you actually listened to the locals.
Tell us the story of how that got created.
So one thing that's great about a farm is that you can't move it,
(07:39):
you know, so like I think when you're saying like about us like
staying in this area, it's like we're so rooted in this area we can
never really move this business, but because we haven't moved the
business I've really felt like the community has supported us so much.
Like every time we open a store I'm always so surprised that when people show
up on the first day like I'm like, overwhelmed with emotion, but it's like
the community really does support us, and that's just an amazing relationship.
(08:04):
So when I wanted to open a store, I was like,
I just assumed I would open it on the farm.
I didn't, I couldn't imagine anywhere else I would put a store.
I also didn't realize our neighbors didn't want it.
They were like, "Oh no, we don't want traffic.
No, no, no."
And so I was like, "Oh, I had no idea."
Um, I was, you know, kind of sad.
I was like, oh gosh, got my feelings hurt.
Like, y'all don't want me to put an ice cream shop right here.
(08:25):
We- y'all can come over and I'll make, you know, scoop ice cream for you.
And uh, no, no, we just, we don't want any more traffic.
So I was like, okay, I get it, and that, and I'm like, I, it is so important.
It's more important to have a good relationship
with your neighbors than to just do what you want.
So I was like, all right, we won't do it there.
That's really why I started in the farmer's market downtown
Knoxville was I was like, okay, I'll just go to the market.
(08:48):
And so I ended up building customers in downtown
Knoxville, and that store in downtown is our busiest store.
So I'm so thankful that our neighbors pushed me.
They challenged me.
I would have been really comfortable just opening a store on
the farm, but I don't think the business would have been able to
grow as it has if I hadn't, they hadn't pushed me to downtown.
Which I was a little scared to go downtown to a
(09:08):
new area, new community and sell ice cream to.
And, and they've, Um, Downtown responded really well to
us coming there and, um, met people from all over when,
you know, now that we have that community in Downtown.
So, we still don't have a store on the farm, and I don't plan to.
I think it's, um, it's probably better that way.
So, I'm, I'm glad that my neighbors challenged me, [laughs]
(09:31):
and, um, I'm glad that we listened to them.
Your farm, though, where the, where the ice cream shop is and the pizza shop.
It's not that far away.
It is not.
So it's the closest location to the farm, and it's in the Forks of the River.
So it's in an area that's very developed, but
all of this development used to be farmland.
So my dad actually grew up on this road, milking cows, and he would bring
(09:53):
me here as a child and be like, you know, "Look at that pile of rocks.
That's where I used to milk cows," and he would cry because he, like, missed.
He just, like, wanted to be able to walk out
there and show me exactly where he milked cows.
And so, because he was so sad about, you know, not being able to go
see where he grew up, he put a conservation easement on our farm.
So, we have 550 acres that's conserved that can never be developed.
(10:15):
And, you know, my parents hope is that we'll just
continue, they'll pass it on to the next generation.
They have 13 grandchildren, and they hope that,
they don't expect everyone to love farming.
It's not for everybody, but they assume someone at one of them, now 13,
[laughs] might want to farm, and there's a farm there for them to, um, to do it.
Because that is probably the biggest challenge of getting into farming is land.
(10:39):
Land is so expensive, and, um, you know, my dad was- he sacrificed a lot.
He, you know, he still, he just, he doesn't spend any money.
He just doesn't want anything, and so every penny he's
made, he saved and put it back into land, which seems
like it would be, um, it's a great idea, but it's hard.
It's harder to maintain land than people, it really is.
(11:01):
It really is.
So, but yeah, this location is really close to the farm and our neighbors.
See, the neighbors still get the ice cream.
It's not right on the farm.
Yes, everybody's happy.
So, tell us about the new venture you all have a, uh, an event venue.
Yeah.
So, okay.
My mom used to be kind of, I guess, I kind of took her job in a way,
(11:21):
I would say, where she was doing the marketing and bottling milk with
my dad, and then I took her job and she needed her own thing to do.
So she did.
She opened like a wedding venue on the farm, and she
absolutely loves helping people get married at the barn,
and I'm really happy for her that she's got this fun job.
My parents just love to work.
Work is fun.
(11:42):
So that's what she's been doing.
She's awesome.
She's been getting people married on the farm and it's real pretty.
You went there.
Yeah, everything about your farm is gorgeous.
The cows are gorgeous.
Everything, everything when we were there, I was just so impressed.
It was so beautiful.
The culture that your family has created in Knoxville and the way
that Knoxville has embraced your company has been really great to see.
(12:04):
Cause Knoxville's not always welcoming, you know, we don't love
everything, and watching Cruze Farm be a local farm, a local,
locally owned, locally farmed, everything is there, you create
all your own flavors, everything is so fresh, it's amazing.
Are you, are you gonna release a pumpkin?
Oh, absolutely.
Yes.
I'm on it.
I'm coming to visit.
We got some really good pumpkin ice cream.
(12:27):
We all know that real estate is location, location, location.
Our team at Just Homes Group has the true expertise
pairing buyers and sellers with the right opportunities.
Whether you're looking to buy or sell a home right here in Knoxville, Lenore
City, Clinton, or Farragut, we have the expertise throughout everything.
(12:51):
Knoxville surrounding area.
Call Just Homes Group today.
I loved when you mentioned authentic because, um, I didn't, I didn't
take any marketing classes, and I was talking to my mom, it was many
years ago about, like, marketing, and she was like, "People just want
authentic, Carleen," like, "just be, do you and do our, our family
(13:12):
and farm and just always be authentic and people will respond to it."
And she's right.
People really do crave just authenticity.
That woman has it together, let me tell you.
So, and you know, you lived with her, but I met her for a day,
and one of the most hidden gems of Knoxville, I would say.
And you're not very hidden.
You do have four amazing stores.
Tell everybody where those are.
(13:32):
Okay, the one you mentioned that's near the farm is in
the Forks of the River in East Knoxville off John Sevier
Highway, and this was our first store that we opened.
Then we opened a pizza place right next to it.
And then we opened our downtown Knoxville location,
which is our busiest store right on Gay Street.
We love being in the Miller's building.
Um, it's got a real fun, fun atmosphere there.
(13:54):
Then our, our third location we opened was Sevierville,
and that's, yeah, right across from Tanger Outlets.
That was fun because my parents always dreamed of owning a shop in
Sevierville, and we actually had a little store in the flea market growing up.
I used to love scooping ice cream in that flea market.
[laughs] and, um, so it's kind of cool that we now have a shop in Sevierville.
(14:15):
And then our last one is in Morristown.
You ever go up to Morristown much?
I do.
It is growing.
Morristown's got some really nice people.
We've got some really great employees up there that we just love.
I just love, I love your story.
I love everything about your family.
I love the farm.
I'm a little biased because I got to be on the farm and eat the
food, milk the cows, and really experience it, but I feel like that
(14:38):
is something that more people in Knoxville experience every day,
and they get to talk about it and they get to share that experience.
They get to share this local commodity with people from out of the area.
And I think you would be very surprised when I ask people
on this podcast, where's the one place that you take people
when they visit here that they don't know about or that that
(14:59):
is a secret, and Cruze Farm is always one of those places.
It's always on that list.
So I think that's really cool to have like that top five
list that Cruze Farm is always
one of those spots.
I love that.
Thank you.
Tell us something about you or your family or your
food or your ice cream that people may or may not know.
One thing is um, That's kind of surprising, I think,
(15:20):
is that we're the only dairy farm in Knox County.
And so I hate that because it's, I'd love, I wish
there was a bunch of dairy farms around here.
We would love to have a more of a community, really, of dairy farmers that we
could even, you know, work with if we ever wanted to grow the business further.
I've always, But the way to do it is not for us to milk more cows, but maybe to
find other dairy farming families that we could buy milk from and support them.
(15:44):
Because the issue with, you know, why dairy farms are
closing is they're not able to sell milk for enough
money to make it a break even or profitable business.
So you actually end up losing money dairy farming, and when you work that hard,
it's just, uh, that's, it's just kind of crazy to work that hard and lose money.
So I don't think a lot of people don't know that.
(16:05):
What else would they not know?
I don't know, but Jersey cows, we always do try to
talk about it, but I still don't know if they know.
Jersey cows are beautiful, like you said, beautiful brown cows, long eyelashes.
They're a smaller dairy breed.
So I think when people think of a dairy cow,
they think of the black and white, uh, Holsteins.
So like the Chick fil A mascot and they are
the most popular dairy cows in the country.
(16:28):
Because they give more milk since they're larger that the milk.
They just get more milk every day.
But our cows give a higher butter fat percentage than any
other dairy breed, which is perfect for making ice cream.
And so, and you can actually see the butter fat on top of the milk.
So, if you let the milk sit, it'll give you a better taste.
The cream floats to the top and you just shake it up.
(16:49):
So that's a, it's not homogenized.
I really like it.
I'd like to pour it off into my coffee.
Those are a couple of things I think people don't realize.
I think that they may think we're a larger business than we are.
We really are a small business and it's funny how I think you just don't
realize how when you look at a business, you might think it's a really
large business if they've got, you know, but we're just, we're pretty small.
(17:11):
We've got a lot of employees because they work.
A lot of part time employees.
They're students, so we've got a big team of over
100, but um, not that many of us work in full-time.
That's so many people to manage.
I mean, that's, that's a, that's a decent size space right there.
Yeah, and I love that we get to give people, a lot of people, their first job.
(17:33):
Sometimes we get employees who have worked somewhere else,
but a lot of times we get people coming in brand new.
And my husband, Manjit, we like had talked about this year with our team and
our leaders, like we have a responsibility of really teaching our employees how
to be professional, how, when it's time to quit, how to professionally quit.
(17:53):
Like, we really want to help set them up for their careers.
Like, okay, they can, we know they're not going to work here forever.
Like not everybody's going to swirl ice cream forever, and we want them to
have a good start and then go on and keep, you know, building on that career.
So, um, we've really focused on that this year on how we could do a
better job of really teaching and leading them into their careers.
(18:15):
What's your most sold ice cream flavor?
So actually sweet cream.
So our vanilla, we call it sweet cream, and it's most popular.
We, we have some crazy flavors.
Like we had last week Thai tea and ube at the downtown shop.
And you know, ube is like a purple, a purple yam.
Okay.
I'll try it.
(18:36):
I'll try anything.
I know it's delicious.
But those are like really unique, and like, I love having really fun flavors
that people can sample, but they'll end up just ordering sweet cream they love.
The sweet cream is like the just the classic.
Love it.
What's the most sold pizza topping other than cheese?
Definitely probably pepperoni, but I just,
you gotta put hot honey on everything.
That's what I do.
(18:56):
It's my favorite.
Delicious pizza.
I cannot stress enough people go to this.
Colleen, anything extra that you want to
add to say hello to everybody out there?
And especially again, this goes out to people across the nation.
Relocation, especially.
We've got about 3,000 new residents coming into
this area to work on the new energy summit.
So I know that they are going
to need a Cruze farm specialty
(19:18):
pop up maybe at the Oak Ridge Farmers Market, because
all 3,000 people are going to need your product.
Where can Find you.
Where can they get a hold of you?
Where can they, where can
they get Cruze Farm products?
We distribute to Nashville and Chattanooga and the Tri Cities.
If they need to figure out where to find us, they
should just email or send us a DM on Instagram.
We'd be happy to help them find how to, how
(19:39):
to get a hold of us and taste some yummy milk.
I literally just thought,
move into Cruze Farm.
Oh,
you're the best.
I absolutely loved having you on the podcast today.
Thank you for always taking time to promote your business and your
family and being local, staying local and being authentic and being
yourself and providing such an amazing product for everyone here.
(20:01):
We really appreciate your family and everything that they do.
Please hug your mom and dad for me.
They are fantastic.
Tell them I said hello.
And all 13 grandchildren, tell them, please stay.
Exactly.
Please, someone, keep milking cows.
Somebody.
Yeah, for the next generation.
Everybody, this has been an amazing episode of Connect the Knox.
I'm Julia Hurley, your host, and this
(20:22):
was Colleen Cruze, owner of Cruze Farm.
Thank
you so much for joining us today.
Until next time.
Bye!
Thanks, Julia.
Thank you for tuning into the show.
Make sure to like and subscribe.
Leave a five star review on your podcast player of choice.
And if you would like information on moving
to Knoxville, send me a private message.
(20:44):
As always, this is Julia Hurley connecting Knoxville to the nation.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com