Nestled amidst the dairies and orchards that line W. Main Street between Turlock and Patterson is the Farmers’ Den. Just as the name implies, the restaurant is a gathering place for the area’s farmers and ranchers — and on weekends also for those traveling to Interstate 5 or State Route 156.

The building that now houses the Farmers’ Den has been on the corner of W. Main and Crows Landing Road since the 1930s, when it was a gas station and market named McCart’s. The property changed hands over the years. In 2005 the Greens bought it and the Farmers’ Den was born.

Local musician Jeff Green, who was down in Los Angeles at the time performing with his band Flying Blind, came back home to run the restaurant. Although multi-talented, Green admits he didn’t know much about the restaurant business or cooking. Enter Joe Romano. The former owner of Chubby’s Restaurant in Turlock had just closed his own business and was looking for a new venture when the opportunity to manage Farmers’ Den was presented.

Romano and Green call the restaurant a family-owned business, with both their respective families coming together to make it the popular breakfast and lunch destination that it is today.

They both credit the restaurant’s continued success — going on 10 years this July — to the camaraderie they’ve built with their customers.

“It’s a community out here,” said Green. “If you need to know something in the area, you come here and figure it out.”

Green and Romano have such a good relationship with their long-time customers that a few of the early rising farmers have been entrusted with keys to the restaurant so that they can get a hot cup of coffee at 4 a.m., before the breakfast crew arrives.

The community-feel of the restaurant is also apparent in its decor. A photographic history of the establishment hangs in the building’s meeting room, which also houses Old West dioramas made out of petrified wood. Many of the country-themed items that adorn that walls of Farmers’ Den were given by customers, said Green.

Along with relationships, the Farmers’ Den is all about quality food.

The restaurant — which is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily for breakfast and lunch and on Thursdays only for dinner —is best known for its breakfast.

“It’s a big, hearty breakfast,” said Green.

It’s all about the eggs, said Romano.

“It seems simple, but it makes all the difference,” he said . “We cook it the way the customer wants it.”

Along with breakfast, the restaurant’s once a week dinner offerings are what keeps residents coming back for more, said Green. The most asked for item on Farmers’ Den’s dinner menu: prime rib.

“We probably have the best prime rib in the county,” said Romano.

“Lots of beef eaters out here,” said Green.

The restaurant’s prime rib, and barbecued tri tip, are also popular items for caterings. The Farmers’ Den offers full-service catering on site or at venues around the Central Valley.

For more information on caterings from Farmers’ Den, call 209.669.6541.