Growing up in Dalton, Emma Reigel always knew two things: she loved spending time on her family farm in Rocky Face, and she never quite fit neatly into the mold others expected of her.
Today, that independent streak has grown into one of the region’s most distinctive businesses: Gowin Valley Farms, a specialty mushroom operation supplying high-end restaurants across Northwest Georgia and Chattanooga while also partnering with universities on cutting-edge agricultural research.
In many ways, the business is both innovative and deeply rooted in family history.
Emma’s grandfather, James Gowin, began farming the family’s historic homestead in 1964. A businessman, banker, inventor and entrepreneur, he grew up on a vegetable farm himself, while his father operated a grocery store in Tunnel Hill during World War II. That entrepreneurial spirit carried through generations, eventually inspiring Emma to imagine a future for the farm that looked very different from traditional agriculture.
“It was always my dream,” Emma said. “Ever since I was little, I told my grandpa I wanted to make the farm my business somehow.”
After graduating from Emory University and earning a master’s degree in marketing from Clemson University, Emma built a career in Atlanta working in pharmaceutical marketing and copywriting. But when the pandemic hit in 2020, she returned home to help care for her grandfather and work on the family farm.
What began as helping with a vegetable garden soon evolved into something much larger.
Emma became fascinated with mushroom cultivation and foraging, eventually launching a small outdoor mushroom log farm before securing a place in a highly specialized research grant involving Kennesaw State University and Cornell University focused on indoor specialty mushroom cultivation.
“I remember thinking, ‘Well, I guess I’m a mushroom farmer now,’” she said with a laugh.
Now, Gowin Valley Farms grows between 200 and 250 pounds of gourmet mushrooms each week, including lion’s mane, shiitake and several oyster varieties. Her mushrooms appear on menus at acclaimed restaurants like Chattanooga’s St. John’s Restaurant, Old Man Rivers Table & Tavern and restaurants at McLemore Resort, and her mushrooms have appeared seasonally on menus in several Dalton establishments as well.
But Emma’s business is about far more than restaurant sales.
She is Wild Mushroom Food Safety Certified through Mushroom Mountain and renowned mycologist Tradd Cotter, completing extensive coursework and testing required to legally sell fresh foraged mushrooms in Georgia and many other states. Her farm also works closely with universities including University of Tennessee Knoxville, Dalton State College and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on research projects exploring sustainable fungi cultivation and food science applications.
“It really is my dream job,” Emma said. “I get to do farming, but I also get to do research and work with higher education.”
Through USDA grants and university partnerships, Emma hopes to help develop easier, more sustainable cultivation methods while continuing to provide high-quality mushrooms from her small family-owned farm to local communities. She also hosts interns from Dalton State College and UTC, blending agriculture, science and education in ways many people might never expect to find in Dalton.
That balance reflects the kind of business owner Emma wants to be. While many entrepreneurs focus solely on rapid expansion, she is intentionally building something sustainable, collaborative and community-centered.
“I don’t want to be some massive wholesale mushroom farm,” she said. “I want to have a healthy business that pays my employees well, supports my life and lets me stay really connected with our customers and community.”
She’s equally passionate about supporting other local businesses and encouraging local students and entrepreneurs to pursue unconventional ideas.
“If you’re not failing enough, you’re not trying enough,” Gowin said, recalling advice from one of her mentors. “And if you fail, fail harder.”
That philosophy — resilient, creative and deeply rooted in community — feels uniquely reflective of Dalton itself.
In a city internationally known for flooring, Dalton’s entrepreneurial spirit has always belonged to people willing to see opportunity where others don’t. Emma Reigel simply found hers growing quietly beneath the forest floor.
Connect with Gowin Valley Farms on social media or visit their website at gowinvalleyfarms.com to learn more about business partnerships, internship opportunities and more!
