Go Texan

Texas boutique hotel Inn at Dos Brisas takes organic farming to new level

The Inn at Dos Brisas, the Relais & Chateaux property and equestrian center in Washington, Texas, has one-upped itself in the culinary department. The ranch resort has expanded its USDA-certified organic farm to 42 acres, nearly doubling its agricultural footprint.

The fruits — and vegetables and herbs — of these labors end up in the kitchen of the onsite restaurant, the only Forbes Travel Guide five-star restaurant in Texas and one of the 10 best farm-to-table restaurants in the world. The farm is divided into 19 acres dedicated to row crop production and 23 acres for hay production. Couple that with the 7,000-square-foot greenhouse, and the inn grows more than 400 varieties of produce, 80 percent of which are heirloom.

Currently the farm is harvesting peppers, tomatoes, melons, squash, okra, strawberries, garlic, onions, leeks, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, heirloom tomatoes and pumpkins. Executive chef Zachary Ladwig uses these foods to create daily, garden-centric menus that showcase the purity and simplicity of what’s in season.

Ladwig can thank Lisa Roese for the bounty; the Texas-born agriculturalist is the general manager of the farm. Roese collaborates with Ladwig to plan and harvest year-round produce.

“Over the years, I’ve had the honor of working alongside and learning best practices from a variety of farmers with different specialties, from greenhouse growing to micros growing to outside tomato farming,” she said in a release. “I’m thrilled to bring this knowledge to life and to provide the resort’s executive chef with the freshest ingredients to craft authentic farm-to-table meals for guests.”

Speaking of guests, in addition to dining at the restaurant, they can visit the farm and pick fresh items to cook in a private class led by Ladwig, who shows students how to prepare meals over an open fire known as the “cowboy cauldron.”

The idyllic Inn at Dos Brisas, one of our picks for the 10 best hotels in Texas, sits on 313 acres in the southern foothills of the Texas Hill Country. It has only nine Spanish-style haciendas and casitas, accommodating a grand total of 28 guests. In addition to the award-winning culinary experiences, visitors can enjoy horseback riding, bass fishing, cycling and clay target shooting.

The Inn at Dos Brisas has doubled its organic farm to 42 acres.

Chefs in the garden at Inn at Dos Brisas

Photo courtesy of Inn at Dos Brisas

The Inn at Dos Brisas has doubled its organic farm to 42 acres.

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Shopping for a cause

Dallas nonprofit Bonton Farms spreads its wings with 2 DFW Airport stores

DFW Airport

Bonton Farms stand at DFW Airport

South Dallas nonprofit Bonton Farms is going international without straying too far from home. The organization is debuting two storefronts at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport: one that just opened and another coming this fall.

The larger Bonton Farms marketplace, a 2,895-square-foot space in Terminal A, quietly opened in mid-August.

A second, smaller 551-square-foot newsstand near the A-Pier will open in October, when the airport's A-Pier expansion is scheduled to open, a spokesperson says. (Exact date is still TBA.)

The shops are called, simply, "Bonton Farms" and are operated by Marshall Retail Group, a subsidiary of WHSmith North America, which is partnering with Bonton Farms on the airport concept.

According to a release, both stores will sell Bonton Farms products such as locally made honey, handmade jam, and goat-milk soap, along with apparel, merchandise, and products made by "Bontonpreneurs," the local entrepreneurs supported through the nonprofit's business-development programs.

Bonton Farms' goods are now sold at DFW Airport Terminal A. Photo courtesy of Bonton Farms

The stores will also offer fresh grab-and-go food, including sandwiches, wraps, salads and sweet treats, as well as travel essentials and souvenirs and gifts.

The airport project was first announced in 2024 as a partnership between Bonton Farms, WHSmith, and DFW Airport. The plan called for Bonton Farms products to be sold alongside goods from other North Texas businesses, including Fort Worth's Sons Coffee, Lettuce Cook, and Pearl Honey Spreads.

Bonton Farms began in the Bonton neighborhood with a small beekeeping operation and has grown into a nonprofit farm, market and community hub. Its operations now include two farm sites, a coffeehouse, farmers market, preservatory and farm-to-table Market/Café, along with programs focused on workforce development, education, health and wellness, economic opportunity and access to fresh food.

"This opening represents an exciting milestone for Bonton Farms and the community we serve," says Mark Jones, President & CEO of Bonton Farms, in the release. "For the first time, our products and our story will reach travelers from around the world. Through this partnership with WHSmith North America, we're creating new opportunities to share the mission of Bonton Farms while generating additional support for programs that help our neighbors thrive."

The airport shops are designed to introduce Bonton Farms to travelers who may not otherwise encounter the organization or its products.

"This store isn't just retail space, it's a front door to our mission," says Kendra Charisse Smith, Director of Operations at Bonton Farms, who oversaw execution of the partnership. "From sourcing and packaging our products to meet the demands of a whole new scale of distribution, every step was about making sure Bonton Farms shows up authentically in one of the busiest airports in the world. This launch reflects the same care and intentionality we put into everything we do in South Dallas.”

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