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Click here to listen! Below is a Q+A with Silvia Cruz owner of El Gallo Cafe and farm stand in Cheriton, VA. Silvia is not only our Farmer Hero, but also leading an agua fresca, salsa and fresh tortilla-making demonstration in the Farm Aid 2026 HOMEGROWN Skills Tent. If you’ll be joining us in Virginia Beach, VA, on September 26th, be sure to come watch this presentation.
1. I’m very excited that you’ll be joining us in the Skills Tent. Can you start by introducing yourself?
My name is Silvia and my husband and I own El Gallo on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We were both raised on the Eastern Shore. David grows the vegetables in our greenhouse next to our Barn Shop and I cook the meals that we all connect and share through. El Gallo is a small farm-to-table Mexican cafe we opened this year. We are open two days of the week, with the remaining five dedicated to prepping and sourcing the finest ingredients for our small team to deliver the best.
2. Why did you start El Gallo?
I started El Gallo because I love sharing food, not just the food when it’s ready to eat, but the whole process. Through El Gallo, I want to teach and show everyone how they can make the same recipes as my family since I’m doing it right there in front of them. Everyone that comes in has the chance to learn how I make fresh tortillas, salsas and tacos. Flavors are rooted from my mother’s recipes with a few of my own twists. My daughter Elizabeth has also helped me start up the business and brought her own twist. She has worked in coffee shops and bakeries and has a lot of amazing experience in the industry.
3. I’m very interested in your story about growing up alongside your parents who were working on farms along the eastern shore. Can you tell me more about that experience?
My parents were migrant farmworkers on the Shore when I was growing up in the 90s. I worked with them in the summer growing up and I loved it. I loved working with them so much that I would try to miss the bus to school. That way my parents would have to drag me along with them to the fields since they didn’t have time to drive me to school.
I remember working on the tomato fields with my siblings too and having tomato fights with the overripe tomatoes. My mom worked on the farm, but she also had a food business where she would make meals for the other migrant workers. Any worker could get a fresh homemade breakfast, lunch and dinner and eat alongside the other workers.
Regardless of your age or if you were a stranger and just started working in the fields, we all ate together.
4. How did that experience influence what you do now?
I really liked how food brought everyone together throughout the whole process. Picking the veggies with my dad, cooking with my mom and sisters and eating with the whole family while connecting with everyone. Regardless of your age or if you were a stranger and just started working in the fields, we all ate together.
You meet so many amazing people that way. That’s what I really want from my restaurant, a place where the customers can see the whole process, eat good food and relax with good company.
5. In the past you’ve mentioned seeing less farmstands alongside the roads in Virginia. What’s going on?
Nowadays people don’t go out of their way so much for freshness because of the convenience. You can go to the big grocery stores where you can get everything you need in one trip, instead of the little farmstand that only has the fruits and veggies that are in season. We’re all busy people so it’s now harder to go out of your way.
With my farm to table restaurant, we’re making it so all the fresh veggies are right here. Next to our restaurant we have a greenhouse where we’ll be growing tomatoes, cilantro and veggies we need for fresh salsa’s all-year round. We also support the local farmers by selling their fruits and veggies we don’t grow ourselves.
6. Lastly, why do you think food brings people together?
I think food brings people together because you get the chance to eat together, connect and share a memory together. While cooking I connect with my culture and the traditions that were passed down to me. When we eat together it gives us a chance to slow down and connect with each other. When you share something that you know someone put a lot of thought and love into, you can tell, and you appreciate it. You can taste the love and it’s a way of showing that you care. Although we may come from different backgrounds or speak a different language, food gives us the power to connect because it is something universal that we cannot live without.
