Morgan Hill: Farm-to-table MOHI Farm restaurant planned for prime downtown site

Morgan Hill developer/vintner Frank Leal, who opened an alfresco dining hit, MOHI Social, during the pandemic, has announced plans to build a casual farm-to-table restaurant on the ground floor of a major project downtown.

The farm-fresh venture, MOHI Farm, is going in at the mixed-use Sunsweet development on East Third Street, which is located next to the site where farmers and vendors gather Saturdays for the weekly farmers market.

“What better place to do a farm-to-table restaurant than 100 feet from a farmers market?” said Leal, who owns a 4-acre farm that will also supply the kitchen with fresh produce. “If you want to feed your children healthy food, if you’re at the park, come on over.”

Implementing the vision will be Aidan Ocampo, a California Culinary Academy-trained chef with a global focus who previously helmed the kitchen at Hayward’s Bijou restaurant and Terrain Cafe at Palo Alto’s Stanford Shopping Center and has cooked at the James Beard House in New York.

Although the menu is still being crafted, there are early plans to feature vegetarian-friendly flatbreads, dosas and Ocampo’s Mushroom-Oat Slider, filled with shiitake, cremini and shimeji mushrooms and served with vegan whole-grain mustard aioli on a vegan whole-wheat bun. In keeping with the produce theme, look for aguas frescas and fruity mojitos that change with the seasons — or are garnished with mint grown on the restaurant’s patio.

Leal, Ocampo and their team intend to buy surplus produce at market’s end each week. And, as new crops come in, from cherries in late spring to pomegranates in fall and winter, they plan to not just incorporate them into dishes but also offer an educational component for diners.

In synergy with the Sunsweet Luxury Apartments above, MOHI Farm will offer delivery and catering services to those residents, as well as an in-store retail section with fresh produce.

“It is always rewarding to see an ambitious project like this come to life — especially one that combines form and function so perfectly,” Republic Urban Properties CEO Michael Van Every said in a statement. Republic is partnering with Glenrock Builders on Sunsweet.

Construction is under way, and MOHI Farm is expected to join Leal’s downtown restaurant portfolio this fall. Both MOHI Social and the Granada Theater’s Champagne Room made their debut last year.

Details: 90 E. Third St., Morgan Hill. www.mohi.social