WSDA Blog

Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Author: Samira Guirguis

Nearly 30 years ago, Bradwin and her husband started Kirsop Farm on less than an acre in Thurston County. After years of careful growth, in 2013 they moved the farm to its current Rochester location, a 90-acre farm that is protected from development. Today, the farm focuses on a wide variety of vegetables and raises chickens on pasture, which they primarily sell directly to customers at farmers markets. 

Kirsop Farm has always centered their sales model on farmers markets, where they have created a loyal following of customers who appreciate the farm’s values and quality. It was at a farmers market in Seattle where Bradwin first connected with the brothers and chefs behind a small ramen and taco stand that would eventually become the worker-owned Pidgin Cooperative. Their initial partnership was simple but meaningful: Bradwin’s surplus chicken backs and bones found new life in the restaurant’s soup stocks.

“They are really my only direct customer for chicken backs, and I have a lot of them,” Bradwin said. “Every season has its ups and downs, but when we know a restaurant is committed to buying from us, it helps us keep farming. They aren’t just customers—they’re partners.”

Over the years, that small exchange at a farmers’ market table grew into a deeper relationship. What began as a modest ramen and taco stand under the moniker  Brothers & Co., evolved into Pidgin Cooperative, a cooperative-run brick-and-mortar restaurant that continues to return to Bradwin’s farm for the ingredients that define their dishes.

For Bradwin, this is the heart of eating local: building connections with people who care about the work behind the food. “They’re very responsible, very thoughtful, very supportive… and committed to sourcing the best ingredients and paying farmers fairly,” she said.

Pidgin Cooperative’s menu blends the comforting familiarity of ramen and Asian-inspired dishes with Pacific Northwest flavors—from longganisa sausage smash burgers to seasonal fried chicken sandwiches. But their commitment to local sourcing remains central.

“Conservatively, 85%—maybe more—of our produce is local,” said Seth Pacleb, co-owner of Pidgin Cooperative said. “The majority of the farms that we order from are in Washington State. It’s not as easy as ordering from a big distributor… but we know where it’s coming from, and we have a relationship with the people producing it. Supporting our local economy is more beneficial to all of us, even if it costs a little bit more.”

Their signature “animal ramen” combines pork and chicken broth with seasonal vegetables, freshly made noodles, braised pork belly, and garnishes like leeks and radishes. The broths are made from scratch, utilizing a whole spectrum of ingredients grown by Washington farms—including chicken from Kirsop Farm and pork from Olsen Farms—reflecting the seasons and the region.

For the chefs at Pidgin Cooperative, sourcing locally isn’t about checking off boxes. “We don’t just pick ingredients off a list—we ask our farmers what they have. That’s how you end up with food that really reflects the Northwest,” Zach Pacleb, co-owner of Pidgin Cooperative explains. Seasonal vegetables, regional grains, pasture raised poultry—everything is guided by what the farms can provide at that moment.
“You can really see the difference in quality. Local produce is night and day compared to what you’d get from a big distributor—the flavors are brighter, the textures are better. That’s what makes the food we serve stand out,” Zach Pacleb said. 

Bradwin sees the partnership as a mutual growth story. “Someone could look at both of our businesses over the years and see them growing together. The chefs support local farms, and in return, our farm thrives. It’s symbiotic. When they do well, we do well, too.”