Heirloom Restaurant Group Goes "Whole Hog"

Heirloom Restaurant Group, with its constituent parts of Pizzeria 712, Communal, Mountain West Burrito, Heirloom Catering, and Cafeteria Company, has a history of supporting the local farming community. 

When the group heard that Julie and Rich Clifford of Clifford Family Farm were getting into the heritage pork business, they worked out a deal. Communal would supply kitchen scraps for hog feed, and the Cliffords would provide a hog when it was ready for market.

Clifford Family Farms has been in Provo for over a decade now, and Heirloom Restaurant Group has been doing business there since Pizzeria 712 first opened in 2007. 

A bit of back story: Clifford Family Farm started when Julie Clifford began raising egg-laying hens about 12 years ago to supplement the income she and husband Rich Clifford were making on the art festival circuit. They put down roots in Provo and started raising and selling premium eggs full-time. On Julie’s side, farming goes back generations. Her grandparents raised fruit trees and pretty much anything else they could get to stand up out of, or on top of, the soil.

When Julie and Rich decided to dedicate themselves to the trade, they still had eight kids at home, so they all pitched in to build Clifford Family Farm into what it is today. Now the kids are grown, but they still put in their time on the farm when they can. One of Julie and Rich’s grandkids helps out at the Downtown Farmer’s Market in Salt Lake during the summer months, too. 

In addition to the Downtown Farmer’s Market, you can also find Clifford eggs, chicken, pork, honey or veggies, for retail sale at the Clifford farmhouse. The classic 120-year-old structure is located at 1461 N 2100 W, and the public is invited to drop by any time to shop for Clifford products, or to just check out the operation. 

Clifford products are proudly used in many of the finest restaurants along the Wasatch Front, including the entire Heirloom Restaurant Group family. According to its owners, Communal couldn’t do Saturday brunch without them.