Hidden Gems: Meet Mia Nguyen of Long Beach Mushrooms

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia Nguyen.

Hi Mia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Long Beach Mushrooms started with a simple curiosity and quickly turned into an obsession. What began as experimenting with growing mushrooms at home slowly grew into a vision for creating something bigger — a local urban farm that could provide fresh, specialty mushrooms directly to our community.

At the time, we were both working traditional careers and trying to figure out what kind of life we truly wanted to build for our family. We fell in love with the idea of growing food in the city, educating people about mushrooms, and creating something tangible with our own hands. Over time, that small passion project turned into a full-time business.

We started small, learning everything through trial and error. We built our systems from the ground up, made plenty of mistakes, and slowly expanded production one step at a time. Today, Long Beach Mushrooms serves farmers markets, restaurants, subscription customers, and educational experiences throughout Southern California. We’ve grown from a small indoor grow into a recognized urban farm and community-centered business.

What’s kept us moving forward is the belief that food should be local, intentional, and deeply connected to the people growing it. More than anything, this journey has been about building a life centered around family, community, and meaningful work — and we feel like we’re still just getting started.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Farming in general is hard, but building an urban mushroom farm from scratch came with a whole different set of challenges. In the beginning, we were learning everything in real time — production, climate control, contamination prevention, sales, staffing, distribution, finances — all while trying to keep the business alive. Mushrooms are extremely sensitive, so one small issue in the grow rooms can impact an entire harvest.

One of our biggest struggles has been scaling responsibly while dealing with cash flow pressure. As demand grew, we had to invest heavily into equipment, infrastructure, and labor before seeing the return. There were seasons where we were working nonstop just to keep up. We’ve also dealt with crop loss, contamination issues, equipment failures, rising costs, and the challenge of educating customers about specialty mushrooms in a market where most people only know button mushrooms.

On top of that, we made the decision to build this as a family-run business while raising children and stepping away from traditional careers. That came with a lot of sacrifice and uncertainty. But every challenge forced us to become better farmers, better business owners, and stronger people. Looking back, the hard seasons are what shaped the culture, resilience, and mission behind Long Beach Mushrooms today.

As you know, we’re big fans of Long Beach Mushrooms. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Long Beach Mushrooms is an urban mushroom farm focused on growing high-quality specialty mushrooms while creating a deeper connection between people, food, and community. We cultivate a wide variety of mushrooms including lion’s mane, blue oyster, pink oyster, chestnut, shiitake, maitake, king trumpet, and more — supplying farmers markets, restaurants, subscription boxes, and direct-to-consumer products throughout Southern California.

What sets us apart is that we are truly hands-on with every part of the process. We produce our mushrooms in-house from culture to harvest, and our wellness products — like tinctures, powders, grow kits, and mushroom coffee blends — are made directly from the mushrooms we grow ourselves. That level of involvement allows us to maintain quality, transparency, and connection to the product from start to finish.

We’re also proud to be helping redefine what farming can look like in a city. Most people don’t think of industrial urban spaces as places where fresh food can be grown, but mushrooms thrive in these environments. We love showing people that agriculture can happen locally, sustainably, and creatively, even in the middle of Long Beach.

Brand-wise, we’re most proud of the community that has formed around the farm. People don’t just buy mushrooms from us — they visit the farm, take classes, bring their kids, learn how food is grown, and become part of the story. We’ve built something that feels deeply personal and community-centered, and we want people to know that Long Beach Mushrooms is about much more than mushrooms. It’s about creating a healthier, more connected way of living and supporting local food systems in a meaningful way.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Our biggest piece of advice is to start before you feel ready and be willing to learn as you go. In the beginning, it’s easy to feel like you need to have everything figured out before taking the next step, but so much of entrepreneurship is learned through experience. Some of our greatest lessons came from mistakes, failures, and seasons where we had to adapt quickly.

We also wish we understood earlier how important consistency and patience are. Building something meaningful takes longer than people think, especially in farming and food production. Growth is rarely linear. There are seasons where things move fast and seasons where it feels like nothing is working, but showing up every day matters.

Another big lesson for us was realizing that community is everything. Relationships, mentorship, loyal customers, and support from the people around you can carry you through difficult seasons. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, collaborate, or let people into the journey.

Most importantly, stay connected to why you started in the first place. There will always be obstacles, financial pressure, and moments of doubt, but having a clear purpose behind what you’re building makes it easier to keep going when things get hard.

Pricing:

• Fresh gourmet mushrooms $20/lb
• In-house made Mushroom Tinctures $30/ea
• Mushroom Grow Kits $30/ ea
• The Ritual: a mushroom coffee alternative $15/ea

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Longbeachmushrooms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/longbeachmushrooms?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@longbeachmushrooms?si=4pmv4-p3HcLMZr-8

Image Credits
Danny Macias