'It'll be a beautiful place': NC farmer plans Ramsey Street country store in Fayetteville
A long-standing Sampson County farm is making plans for a country store in Fayetteville.
Jackson Family Farms owner Brent Jackson said Friday that he hopes to open a 2,250-square-foot store at the corner of Ramsey Street and Country Club Drive this fall.
The .65-acre parcel at 3403 Ramsey St., next to a Dunkin and Baskin Robbins and across the street from Crown Fried Chicken, has been vacant for years. Soon, it will be home to a farmers market, nursery and gift shop, Jackson, 48, said.
Produce like strawberries, Vidalia onions, peas, beans, cantaloupe, potatoes, okra, collards, turnips, sweet corn and pumpkins, grown on the family's third-generation, 500-acre farm in Newton Grove will be sold at the Fayetteville store, Jackson said.
There will also be milk from Homestead Creamery in Virginia and cheese from Ashe County Cheese in Northwest North Carolina, plus free-range eggs, country ham and sausage.
The store will stock old-fashioned sodas in glass bottles, jams, jellies and candy and the gift shop will offer seasonal home decor, he said. Customers will find potted and hanging plants at the store’s nursery.
Reclaimed wood from a 150-year-old tobacco barn on Jackson's farm will be used to build the inside of the store, giving it an “old-timey” feel, Jackson said, and the brick wall bordering the property will soon be painted with murals of flowers and plants.
“It’ll be a beautiful place,” he said.
The Jacksons have a similar market in Newton Grove, but business slows down when the school year starts, he said. With a high-traffic location in Fayetteville’s northern corridor, Jackson said, he hopes to stay busy all year.
Anywhere from four to 10 employees will be hired to run the market, he said.
Though the brick-and-mortar store is still in the works — plans were submitted to the city in late March — Jackson said the business has already begun building a customer base in Fayetteville.
He said the sale of flowers and Christmas trees last year was met with enthusiasm from residents, and some said the north side of town needed such a market.
“We have awesome customers in Fayetteville,” Jackson said.
Ramsey Street grocery shopping options are limited to Walmart, Aldi and Food Lion. The area’s retail scene may soon see big changes with the addition of a $40-million shopping center, a new grocery store in the Kings Grant neighborhood and the Jackson Family Farms store in the works.
Jackson said he looks forward to being part of the Ramsey Street community.
“Fayetteville gets a bad rap, but Fayetteville’s not a bad place,” he said. “I hope it goes really well.”
Food, dining and culture reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at [email protected] or on Facebook. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jackson Family Farms market planned for Ramsey Street in Fayetteville
