LAGRANGE PARK, Ill. — In suburban Lagrange Park, a man is gearing up for his biggest harvest to date, nearly 10,000 tomato plants, all of which he started growing in his basement.
His name is Bob Zeni, but around town, pretty much everyone knows him as “The Chicago Tomato Man.”
Twenty years ago he was looking for a hobby. His wife suggested he give tomatoes a try. And so he did and he now grows starts for more than 120 heirloom tomato varieties
“I want everyone to taste a great tomato,” he said.
More information at https://www.chicagotomatoman.com/
And as word got around so did orders for the Chicago Tomato Man.
Last year, he grew more than 5,000 tomato plants.
He has customers pick up the spindly beauties at 22 different pop up markets around town.
While Chicago’s Tomato Man has already sold out of several varieties, you can still pre-order plants online with most running between $6-$10.
