Introducing to the Chicago North Shore Moms community, Stefanie Cohen, a Highland Park mom of four, brand new entrepreneur and co-owner of the North Shore’s first hydroponic indoor farm featuring delicious microgreens of all varieties in an equally as pleasing storefront, Local Leaf Farm!
From childhood tennis matches and Guster concerts to growing fresh greens under pink grow lights Stefanie Cohen is redefining what it means to be a modern farmer. As the co-founder of Local Leaf Farm, Stefanie and her husband Danny are bringing innovative, hyper-local produce straight to North Shore homes and local restaurants one microgreen at a time. A former journalist and educator turned “Founding Farmer,” she now pours her heart into building community, educating families, and raising four incredible kids alongside a thriving business.
In this week’s Meet a Mom, Stefanie shares her journey, her passion for real food, and the mission behind the farm that’s changing how we connect with what’s on our plate. Welcome, Stefanie!
Hi Stefanie. Please introduce yourself. Where are you from originally? What city do you live in now? What brought you here?
My name is Stefanie Cohen and my husband Danny and I own Local Leaf Farm, a new innovative hydroponic indoor farm growing microgreens, lettuce, spinach, sprouts and edible flowers. I am originally from Deerfield and Danny is from Highland Park. We moved back to Highland Park 11 years ago, and have grown our family from zero kids to four kids! We were excited to be surrounded by the community we love and nearby family and friends.
Tell us about your children and do brag away!
We have four amazing kids, our daughter is 11, son is 8 and identical twin boys are 4.5 years old. Our daughter is sweet and introverted, loves puzzles and math, and absolutely takes pride in Local Leaf Farm, and enjoys germinated trays and giving tours. Our oldest son is very active and sporty, loving his ultimate ninjas team and travel soccer. He is outgoing, and loves to meet people and makes friends everywhere he goes. Our youngests were surprise twins during covid, and they are adorable and silly, loving to play and build towers and forts, and follow around their older siblings. All of our kids have been incredibly wonderful with Local Leaf Farm, and they have learned so much too!
What are one or two fun or interesting things to know about you?
Some things to note about me would be that I am a part of the Glenbrook Racket Club’s women’s travel tennis team. I’ve been playing tennis since I was around 5 years old, and it really is a great outlet! I love playing and I love my team. Another unique thing about me is my obsession with the 90s band Guster! I have seen them nearly 30 times (my next show will be my 30th!) and I have traveled around the country catching concerts as often as I can!
What are your favorite North Shore places, spaces and eats to frequent with family, date night, hang out, etc.?
I LOVE food, nearly every cuisine and coffee! We frequent Double Cup Coffee, Hometown, That Little French Guy and Central Cafe.
Favorite restaurants would be Denucci’s (far before they sourced their basil from us!), Sophia Steak, Abigail’s, and Sushi Badaya.
We also love Michael’s and Claim Co. and DiPescara with the kids! We honestly hang out at home a lot! My kids really enjoy spending time together, inside and outside our house, basement to backyard. We also love spending time with family at their houses with the abundance of cousins in the area!
Any good reads or tv shows you’ve binged lately?
I have been an AVID reader for a very, very long time, but starting up Local Leaf Farm, sadly that interest has taken a back burner position. I am interested in reading Mona’s Eyes Novel by Thomas Schlesser that was recently published. My daughter read it quickly and LOVED it! I don’t usually watch too much tv, but I did indulge in the most recent Emily in Paris. I love that it’s lighthearted and easy to watch!
Your mantra?
I would say I always look down at the hummingbird tattoo on my forearm, which is representative of the album cover of Guster’s called Keep in Together. It’s my reminder everyday to keep it together, stay focused and present. We never know what tomorrow brings, so I try to focus on today.
It’s time to get down to business. Congratulations on the grand opening of your storefront! Please introduce the Local Leaf Farm!
Thank you! As mentioned above Local Leaf Farm is an indoor hydroponic farm growing fresh microgreens, lettuce, spinach, sprouts and edible flowers.
Our business is as unique as they come given the innovation Danny has designed to bring fresh food to our community. We are mission-driven which is to revolutionize the way people connect with food. We want to be the local source for fresh greens and the like, connecting with our community, encouraging everyone to wonder and be curious about where their food comes from, how many hands touch it, how long it has sat on a truck, etc. With Local Leaf Farm, we want everyone to believe in what they see, feel, touch, and obviously eat!
We took over the old Chipotle at 1849 Greenbay Road, Suite 159 in Highland Park. We are in between M Salon and Zeifert Eye Care.
How did you get started in the produce business, specifically with leafy greens?
Danny is the visionary and designer behind Local Leaf Farm. With a background in mechanical engineering, Danny has designed HVAC in interior spaces for nearly 20 years, and within the last decade, designed many cannabis and lettuce farms as well. When covid hit and many stores and offices closed or went remote, Danny started wondering about how to use spaces differently. The food industry took a significant hit during this time as well, and after putting the two ideas together of space and food, Danny took a leap and designed Local Leaf Farm, and we have been thrilled with the feedback and growth!
What did you do before starting Local Leaf Farm?
I graduated from University of Missouri with a degree in magazine journalism. After working as an associate editor for Beverage Industry Magazine for a few years, I decided to pursue a masters in education and taught for years at John V. Leigh Elementary School in Norridge, IL. After having my first child, our daughter, in 2014, I decided it was right for me to stay home for a while. I dabbled in private tutoring and taught Stroller Strides for a while as well, but ultimately took time to be at home with the kids, managing our house with 4 kids after covid, which demanded my attention. I am beyond excited to take Local Leaf Farm further, as my role is Founding Farmer, which is hilarious, but I am focused on connecting with our community, chefs, caterers, restaurants, health and wellness professionals and nutritionists, as well as have a presence on social media (as best I can!)
Aside from your storefront, where can we find your produce?
Currently we have our retail store, and online store, and we do delivery for free (for now!) We also have been growing our live basil for Denucci’s, and Central Cafe has our MicroGiant blends, and Chia Leah will be selling our greens as well. Additionally, Elawa Farm in Lake Forest has our beautiful lettuce blends at their winter markets on Fridays and in the CSA.
What’s your favorite leafy green?
Gosh, that’s such a tough question! I honestly LOVE them all and I love blending so many together. But I really love our microgreen blends, MicroGiant and Vitality, respectively. I feel like they are so dense in flavors with multiple varieties in each, and can be eaten as a salad, or as an addition to nearly everything from eggs to burgers to smoothies to soups.
Do you have any specials you’d like to share with our audience?
We offer a 10 percent off your first order with the code NEIGHBOR10
We also often have a buy 1 get 1 of any variety, so look out for that!
As an entrepreneur, what has been the hardest part about starting a business, particularly one with a storefront?
Hmmm… I would say the most challenging part of opening our business has been finding the balance between work and home, which is common with anyone opening a business. But it’s even more tricky with Danny and I working together, living together, parenting together, and wanting to show and provide love to all the important people and areas in our lives. Having a storefront is actually amazing, as I love waving to everyone who walks by. I would say one of the goals is to educate everyone about what we are; passerbys see the bright pink grow lights and are often very confused about what type of business we are growing (well, we are growing a lot!)
What else would you like us to know about Local Leaf Farm?
We really are so excited to be bringing our original roots to our community. Growing up around the North Shore was wonderful, and after years of living here with our kids loving it also, we are thrilled to open Local Leaf Farm, a place where everyone can come in and see what we are all about.
I’ve said before that we are kind of a farmer’s market meets science museum and if those two had a baby, Local Leaf Farm would be that baby. We want to create a way for everyone to trust their food, trust the process, meet your farmers, see the whole operation and believe in something real again.
We live in a world where it’s sometimes difficult to know what is real and what is fake, and we are excited to grow something true and real, right before your eyes, and impacting lives in a positive way.
And how do we connect with you?
The best way to contact me is to stop by or email, text or call!
Our store address is
1849 Greenbay Road, Suite 159
Highland Park, IL (there’s parking in front or in the garage below with elevator access!)
Or you can email me, [email protected] or send me a text, 847-721-7833
I can’t wait to hear from you and answer any additional questions you may have!
About Our Meet a Mom Sponsor
Chicago North Shore Moms is supported in part by Mary Gregory Gifford, a Lake Forest mom of three and owner of Gifford Law, a solo Estate Planning Firm (wills and trusts). Mary, we appreciate your support of local moms in our North Shore communities! Learn more about Mary by visiting her Meet a Mom spotlight here! Contact Mary directly here: [email protected].
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