A unique urban agriculture business has made quick use of funding from a private economic development corporation. Its new project will boost production.
Guided By Mushrooms, an urban mushroom business, is still settling into its new space in New Lebanon, Montgomery County. Production has not slowed, and a new piece of equipment will help increase it.
A $30,000 reimbursement grant from JobsOhio allowed the business to purchase an autoclave, a machine that uses steam under pressure to kill dangerous bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores.
The autoclave will give the business the ability to quadruple production, said Audra Sparks, co-founder of the business.
Guided By Mushrooms started as a hobby for Sparks’ husband, David Sparks. He posted pictures of mushrooms he grew to his social media and Guided By Mushrooms was founded in 2018.
The business operated from about 2,400 square feet, including two 10-foot by 20-foot tent fruiting chambers on family property in Clayton.
“We were so crammed into that space,” Sparks said.
Guided by Mushrooms now has a five-year lease on nearly 8,000 square feet at 287 E. Main Street that was once a daycare center.
The business moved into the building some months ago and it is large enough for four to five fruiting rooms, a larger production area and larger lab.
Guided By Mushrooms also went from an LLC to a worker-owner co-op.
Two full-time employees have been added to the staff that now totals six. Sparks expects to bring on one or two more people early next year.
“Adding two more people will help us increase our reach hopefully into Richmond and Indianapolis,” she said.
The process to produce the mushrooms starts with pellets and water in a plastic bag that is sealed and steamed - this is where the autoclave will come into play. Right now the steaming process happens in an atmospheric steamer. That will be used for exclusively for smaller medicinal batches when the autoclave arrives.
The bag is inoculated with mushroom mycelium and then vented and left to incubate for two to four weeks depending on mushroom type.
Guided By Mushrooms cultivates nine different strains of mushrooms - six gourmet and three medicinal.
The business was producing about 350 pounds of mushrooms a week for customers.
The new autoclave will allow for double that amount, initially. The business will be able to keep up with demand as the customer base grows.
Sparks said although mushroom growing is a flexible process that can be done in almost any space, outdated zoning laws proved to be a challenge when looking for a new location.
The initial plan was to relocate in Dayton but “they didn’t know how to zone us. They kept showing us spaces that were for light manufacturing/industrial businesses,” Sparks said.
The pandemic was also a factor. Sparks said calls and emails about a space often went unanswered.
It was about 18 months before the Sparks saw the property in New Lebanon.
“City council has been great to us," she said. “We applied for a zoning change, and they were very amenable. We’re just happy to be in this building.”
Glena Madden, New Lebanon municipal manager, said the zoning change was a win-win for both Guided by Mushrooms and the village.
"We have a great new business in our village and Guided by Mushrooms has a larger building and excellent location," Madden said.
The business had another champion in CO-OP Dayton, which has been invaluable, Sparks said.
“We know how to grow mushrooms and they helped us with the actual business side of keeping things straight," she said.
Guided by Mushrooms wholesales to grocery stores in Dayton, Greater Cincinnati and Columbus and sells fresh to several restaurants in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky.
2nd Street Market in downtown Dayton is the only place to purchase mushrooms directly from the business.
The product line includes mushroom powders, spice blends, mushroom salts, honey, and medicinal mushroom tinctures and are available on the website.
Guided by Mushrooms has a presence in stores as well, including Dorothy Lane Market, Jungle Jim's International Market in Cincinnati and Bexley Natural Market and Clintonville Natural Foods, both in Columbus. It’s also available in Tom’s Market in Yellow Springs and MOON Co-op in Oxford.
Sparks is hopeful the business will expand its product line next year to include patties, soups and more.
Guided By Mushrooms regularly donates mushrooms to House of Bread in Dayton.
“We’ve been giving to House of Bread for a very long time and we’re happy that some of the less fortunate members of our community can enjoy our mushrooms,” Sparks said.
Customers can purchase mushrooms by the pound at wholesale price and donate it to House of Bread as a tax-deductible donation.
