If you've visited the Prince George Farmers' Market recently, you may have come across a unique business selling high-quality mushrooms, mushroom salts and other fungi-related products.
Urban Shroomery has been in business for four years, after Joshua Halsband purchased the market-based company from a friend.
“I started growing mushrooms when I moved to Prince George back in 2007,” said Halsband. “It was just a bit of a hobby. Then, about four years ago, a fellow approached me to buy shares in the business that was set up in this spot. I was actually looking at opening a brewery on my own. I've always had this sort of entrepreneurial spirit, so I talked to him about it and said, ‘That’s not going to work.’ And he says, ‘By the way, I’m selling a mushroom business.’ I said, ‘Well, that might be more my speed right now. I’ll see what I can do.’ So I purchased some cultures and stepped into what he was doing at the market.
Halsband’s business quickly grew, selling to local restaurants such as Betulla Burning, White Goose Bistro and Nancy O’s, and expanding to more farmers’ market locations.
“At first, it was just a few small sales on Saturdays, and I ran the operation out of my basement," he said. "I quickly realized that Prince George was really hungry for mushrooms.”
Last fall, Halsband opened a warehouse at 1737 Nicholson St., giving him more space to grow mushrooms and plan future expansions.
The idea to open a storefront soon followed, with the goal of supporting local artists and brands while offering customers an easier way to get their mushroom fix.
“At first, I told my wife we could have our product out there,” he said. “Then we started talking more and realized there are all these great artists, food makers and artisans who really need representation. We love the art, we love the food — so it was a natural thing. My wife started reaching out to local vendors, saying, ‘Hey, this is our client. Would you be interested?’ And then it just ballooned. We got a lot of people, as you can see — with art, honey, crackers, soups — it’s all Prince George made.”
Halsband grows all his mushrooms in sawdust packets at his warehouse using freezer tents that create optimal growing conditions. Once placed in the “fruiting room,” it typically takes between one week and a month for the mushrooms to fully mature.
“It’s a daily task, for sure,” said Halsband. “We’ve got to keep an eye on things to make sure humidity stays stable, the humidifiers have water, the temperatures are consistent, and we’re avoiding any contamination problems. There's a lot of lab work to get things going — it’s not super-easy, but it’s not super-difficult either. It’s just busy work.”
The future of Urban Shroomery looks bright, with plans to expand into mushroom-based to-go food.
“We’re going to add more items to the storefront,” said Halsband. “Our phase two is to install a small Northern Health-approved kitchen in the back. Then we’ll start offering hot to-go food like quesadillas, mushroom empanadas, mushroom soup, things like that. One of our good friends also makes bagels and pretzels, which will go really well with the brewery next door, since they don’t serve food. Their customers can come here, grab some hot food, and take it over there to eat. We’re not planning a sit-down area, since that would change the licensing, so it’ll be strictly to-go. That’s the next phase: hot food, mushroom tea and Lion’s Mane coffee.”
To learn more or support the business, visit Urban Shroomery’s Facebook page.
