A Dash of Texas on a Rocky North Stonington Road

Having spent the better part of her professional life as a designer and brand specialist in the luxury and hospitality space, North Stonington resident Kim Grijalva knows what it means to define and curate the type of luxury people travel to the ends of the earth for or spend exorbitant amounts of money on. The luxury she and her husband Yuri pursue today and talked about when edible CT EAST visited recently goes well beyond what money can buy. It goes deeper than setting the stage for a brand shoot across the globe, as she’s done countless times complete with rich materials and a story that sells big buyers and consumers alike.

Today, the luxury her family chases on their historic property along a rocky Connecticut road starts with the soil. As your eyes lock onto their vast estate, you will quite certainly be swept away by the natural beauty, and by the majestic, Texas Longhorns that (sort of) greet you from the pasture. But no matter the captivating sight, everything the Grijalva’s do on their nearly 300-year old homestead, and on the farm they cultivate from dawn to dusk, starts from deep within the ground.

In the hospitality industry, we hear many, especially in the wine world, talk about terroir and the importance of how much it affects the growth of vines, the grapes, and later what it imparts in terms of flavor. The same, however, can be said about most things grown from soil. “It’s all about the soil,” Kim said. “It’s the problem in the world and it’s the solution.” And despite Connecticut’s rich agricultural history and the riches that have come from growing in microclimates, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to just stake a post and yield something successfully. There’s a reason there was a migration West in the 19th century. Farmers and ranchers sought out more space, fewer rocks, and ranches that could be measured in miles not acres.

But at the 100 Acre Wood and Grijalva Cattle Company, which opened in 2021, the family saw promise in the area’s storied history and, most certainly, the soil; it is what drives the family, their cattle, and their business every day. “To take one of these old homesteads and make it viable in today’s world? “That is important,” Kim said. And that is what they do.

The Grijalva’s purchased the historic Prentice-Browning Homestead farm, which dates back to 1743, after raising their family in Florida–daughter Rylie and son, Kai, now in college. The homestead today represents 103 acres of the original parcel of land. No strangers to playing in the dirt, the Grijalva’s had a modest farm in Florida and were passionate master gardeners. Little did they know then, however, just how much the soil and raising things would become their future livelihood.

Yuri was born in Ecuador but grew up in New Jersey and Kim grew up along the North Fork in Long Island, so the pull back to the Northeast, where they both spent their youth, had deep roots. In 2010, the family took a trip to Ecuador to visit some of Yuri’s relatives outside of Quito, and after a week of riding horses in the Cotopaxi region, at the base of the Andes, that reconnection to his heritage, ranch life, and the Chagras (Andean Cowboy) emerged. He was hooked. And, after working as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Ft Lauderdale for nearly 25 years, he was ready for a new chapter. At the very least, he knew a horse would be part of the picture. While picking up a horse at a ranch in Oklahoma, the Grijalva’s enjoyed some Longhorn beef over dinner. Yuri was soon offered the opportunity to purchase a bull–yes, his name was Ferdinand–and the rest really is history.

Kim grew up on the northeastern shore of Long Island, among the orchards, potato farms, and clam beds of the North Fork. She rode her bike out to Baiting Hollow, where she worked at a farm and Farmstand. “It was a quiet, simple, coastal, country life,” she said. So, much of their move to Connecticut was about rekindling that simpler life in a more rural setting. Through Grijalva Cattle Company, and their new life as homesteaders, they’ve been able to reconnect with wisps of their past while discovering the riches of a new place.

Kim’s grandfather (born in Milford) worked in New York’s meat-packing district as a butcher and operated his own carts throughout the city. He also helped pioneer the Butcher Shop within A&P grocery, at the time, the first supermarket in New York. ”He was a burly Irish Italian with a great sense of humor,” Kim said. “He imparted a deep appreciation for well-butchered meat that was seasoned and cooked to perfection.”

But why Texas Longhorns? Texas Longhorns are visually striking; there’s no doubt about that. From the rich tapestry of hides to the length and formation of the horns, the vision of them on a pasture is enough for many to desire them. For the Grijalva’s, however, the breed also has deep ties to Spanish-American history. And, because of their horns, they naturally separate, therefore they don’t group together making it difficult to work with or around them. And, in terms of product and consumption, Texas Longhorns are rich in flavor and are actually considered the leanest and heart-healthiest of all beef.

Longhorns are foragers who take advantage of what the seasons bring, beyond the local environment’s grass. That’s why when people ask if their beef is ‘grass fed’ or grass finished’ Kim says, “No.” When the acorns drop, the Longhorns will eat them; if there’s a hickory nut, they’ll eat that too. They do work with a local grain producer up the road, for example, who creates a wonderful mix; he grows sunflowers for the Make-A-Wish foundation and seeds from the flowers end up in the mix. Their Longhorns enjoy that too. They also nosh on hay from a nearby producer who cuts the grass when it is wet, rolls it when it’s wet, and wraps it when it’s wet; it then ferments to create a nutrient rich compost. The Longhorns love that too!

The Grijalva’s began processing steers through a USDA processor and butchery in January 2024 and by the spring, opened the Farm Store where they started selling the beef, chicken, and eggs. “This was a great way to test the market and see how people responded,” Kim said. “The feedback was great, and [the beef] quickly became known locally as premium beef. It was also a chance for us to sample complimentary products like spices, salsas, marinades, and condiments,” she added, which is something they hope to produce themselves and add to their wares by 2026.

“Customers may first come for the novelty of the Longhorns,” Yuri mentioned. “But, compared to what you get in the grocery store, which is often produced from places processing thousands of cows a day, people come back here, because it just tastes better.”

In May, they launched CSA “Bounty Boxes,” which include a combination of Longhorn beef, pasture chicken, and eggs, plus recipes, and their own seasoning mixes. Each month, subscribers will come to the farm to pick up their box and receive recipes and the option to purchase add-ons like sourdough, dairy, and produce. By the end of the summer, they’ll launch a Ranch Dinner series to celebrate the harvest season along with the partner farms that are part of their Bounty Boxes.

Spend a little time with the family and, if you let them, they will admittedly geek out over their regenerative farming pursuits. When every plant, animal, and insect has a job to do, and, when done in harmony with seasons, the fruits of your labor are rewarded. They are seeing it before their eyes. What might have taken several years to create, their farm, with regenerative practices, has taken 18 months. On the heels of such success, the Grijalva’s are excited to put projects into place that the recent grants they’ve been awarded will afford them: Namely, the silvopasture and the expansion of the farm store.

“I love the word ‘sustenance’,” Kim said. “It’s a meaty word. And yes, it means food, but it also means food for the soul. It’s the growing, it’s being out there, watching them as moms, caring for their young.” She went on to reflect about what it was like when it was time for the first steer they raised to be dropped off for processing. “It was hard,” she added. But then the bigger picture set in. “You realize you are sustaining and you’re existing in a much more profound way.” It’s the cycle of life.

As the family looks out onto the pasture, on the same land that has been farmed for nearly 300 years, they realize they are adding to a legacy of land and soil that gives them a measure of luxury money alone could never buy.

In the two-story guest house, which is surrounded by century’s old cedars, there are two upstairs bedrooms, a full kitchen, a living area with a bar and a private deck complete with a barbecue grill and fire pit. You can carve out time to spend with friends at the 10 foot stone pit, enjoy fresh eggs from the hens, or just take in the quiet and the stunning, bucolic view.

• Grijalva Cattle Co., the Farm Stand, and the Owl House on the 100 Acre Wood are located at 222 Northwest Corner Rd, North Stonington, CT. Look for the old green Ford and drive up to the black barn. www.grijalvacattleco.com