A new restaurant called The Farm House is now open at 650 W. Andrew Johnson Highway, and its owners say they are eager to build this new business with the goal of helping others.
Located in the building that once housed The Diamond House Chinese restaurant and more recently Chang Thai, The Farm House is a joint venture between cook Ricardo Camacho, who also owns El Chilango food truck, and Yasmin Huertas, a 2020 Greeneville High School graduate and current East Tennessee State University student.
The Farm House opened in mid-March, but Huertas and Camacho said the story behind it began years ago.
“A few years back my dad and Ricardo worked together, and they used to talk about going into business together and opening a restaurant,” Huertas explained. “Dad finally opened a little store that became Costa del Sol a few years later, and Ricardo opened his food truck.”
Costa del Sol is located at 86 N. Rufe Taylor Rd.
Huertas said she has looked up to her father and began working with him at Costa del Sol from a young age, first as a cashier and later as a waitress. Through that experience and seeing her dad run his business, she said she developed her own dreams of owning a restaurant.
“Dad always had his business, and I wanted to start my own and prosper, too,” Huertas said. “I wanted to do something different, and I also wanted to do something to give back and help those in need in my community.”
She said Costa del Sol has hosted fundraisers and charity drives, and her goal is to expand on that and partner with her dad and his restaurant for a joint effort to meet the needs of people who are struggling.
“I want to be able to just open up the restaurant and give people what they need,” Huertas said. “We are thinking when we’re stable enough we would set a day each month to dedicate to opening up the place to give out food and any personal needs, toiletries, clothes, blankets — whatever people need.”
Camacho said he envisions those open days operating similar to church-related outreach programs, and both he and Huertas said their Catholic faith is important to them. They said it is their faith, as well as first-hand experience with hardship, that drives their desires to use their business endeavors to help others who are struggling financially.
“We know how tough things can be, but God gave us this gift, and we want to use it to help other people,” said Huertas. “We started from the bottom, but with hard work and faith we worked to where we are now. We plan to keep doing that. It shows with hard work and determination you can strive for your goals.”
“We came from the bottom, and we know what it is to build something,” Camacho agreed.
Huertas describes the menu at The Farm House as family or country style.
“All of our food is homemade, including our desserts, and we use local produce,” Huertas said.
What is on the menu changes daily, but meals include one meat, two hot sides, one cold side and one dessert. Pricing is set to include tax at $18 for adults, $12 for children older than 4 and $13 for to-go orders. Children 4 and under can eat for free, Huertas said.
The Farm House is open Friday-Sunday currently, but Camacho said that may later be expanded to include Thursdays. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.
To reach the restaurant, call 609-7176. More information, including updated menus, is also available on the restaurant’s Facebook page.