Community Corner

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

An often-overlooked, yet essential piece of summertime New England is the roadside farm stand.

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A small roadside farm stand on Route 159 in Suffield.
A small roadside farm stand on Route 159 in Suffield. (Tim Jensen/Patch)

Today's column deviates a bit from our norm, for it involves multiple sites across numerous towns in Hartford and Tolland counties. Not all of them are necessarily hidden, but rather, the entire genre is somewhat overlooked at times, yet is a staple of summertime in New England.

Our feature today is roadside farm stands, particularly the little mom-and-pop ones, some of which have been around seemingly forever (77 years is the longest we encountered this week). With all due respect to the big supermarket chains, there is nothing like biting into a crispy vegetable or juicy piece of fruit, knowing that it was recently hand-picked with love. It's kind of like getting some ice cream at a baseball game; by rule, it tastes twice as good when eaten out of a miniature plastic helmet.

The stands we saw came in every imaginable size, shape and form. Some were small walk-in sheds, others were display carts and wagons, some were merely a table and folding chair. I swear I even saw an old converted Winnebago in my personal travels.

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A few still rely on the old-fashioned honor system - take your produce and leave the money in the box. One farmer told Patch, "We must live in a trustworthy town, because I don't remember the last time we were ever ripped off."

The following photos depict a representative sampling of some roadside stands in north-central Connecticut. By no means do we claim to have seen them all, for that would take weeks. If you have a favorite spot in the region which is not shown, please email the name, address and a horizontal non-copyrighted photo to tim.jensen@patch.com.

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Fonicello's Farm, Route 30 and Handel Rd., Stafford.
Lemek Farms, 343 Goose Lane, Tolland.
149 South St., Vernon.
13 Skinner Rd., Vernon.
Hockanum Valley Farms, 60 Lower Butcher Rd., Ellington.
Pitney Farms, 193 Pinney St., Ellington.
Riley's Farm, 17 Ninth District Rd., Somers.
Hastings Farm, 378 Main St., Somers.
184 North Maple St., Enfield.
Urbanowicz Farm, 25 South Rd., Enfield.
Brookside Farms, 550 Boston Neck Rd., Suffield.
211 Simsbury Rd., Granby.
J.L. Hall Farm, 83 Terrys Plain Rd., Simsbury.
Young Farms, 197 Hartford Ave., East Granby.
Evergreen Fields, 440 North St., Windsor Locks.
Winlox Farm, 79 West St., Windsor Locks.
Braydon's Farm Fresh Veggies, 208 Scantic Rd., East Windsor.
Jones Family Farm Stand, 571 Avery St., South Windsor.
Photos: Tim Jensen/Patch and Chris Dehnel/Patch

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The Hidden Gems series, created in 2019 by Patch editors Chris Dehnel and Tim Jensen, features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite Hidden Gem in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to Chris.dehnel@patch.com.

Other Hidden Gems in the series:

2025

2024

2023 and earlier

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