Cluck! Re-hatched on the Cranston Farm

After five years of Broadway brouhaha in Providence, during which Drake Patten’s urban agricultural supply store Cluck! was opposed [and sued] by a neighboring church, which recently bought the property … Cluck! was forced to seek a new home. Gradually, Patten, her family and even her loyal customers understood that the smart thing to do was to move her operations to her 48-acre Cranston farm. “I had worked with super-urban and super-rural customers,” she says, “but suburban neighborhoods with small yards and zoning restrictions also need my help.” Plus, regular customers have realized that Cranston is not all that far from the West End; there’s definitely more space on the farm for new garden designs and more nursery stock; and they are close to their resources and their own farming endeavors, including sheep, goats, llamas, ducks and, yes, chickens. They lease land on their farm to three different women-owned farms, and provide eggs to the CSA for one of the farms. “We’re moving forward with coops for the chickens, with a heritage breed of sheep [Leicester Longwools] and with new directions, based on customers’ input,” Patten says. “I’m happy with the decision now.”

Opening in March, at 684 Natick Ave., Cranston. 401.274.1160; CluckRI.com