The gourmet mushrooms at Rich Life Farm and Fungi are fruited with love—literally. Emalee and Pete Richman first began growing specialty mushrooms as both a hobby and an effort to spend more time together.
Photograph by Devyn Glista
Prior to opening their farm, the married couple worked opposite schedules, rarely seeing each other. “It just wasn’t what we were really hoping for as far as a life together,” says Pete.“We’d come home after giving 10 hours of our best selves to someone else. It just wasn’t fulfilling.” So in 2020, after quitting their day jobs, the young duo went all-in on their hobby, starting a large-scale fungi farm in New Richmond. At the indoor farm, rows of mushrooms grow on shelves, thanks to a multi-step, hypercontrolled process.
Photograph by Devyn Glista
Photograph by Devyn Glista
The couple cultivates 10 mushroom varieties at a time, from shaggy white lion’s mane to the traditional brown-cap shiitake, producing more than 300 pounds of fungi each week.
Photograph by Devyn Glista
The fruits of their labor are sold at farmers’ markets and to local restaurants.“We’re living our ‘rich’ life,” says Emalee. “We’re getting to work for each other and ourselves every day.”
Photograph by Devyn Glista
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