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Business & Tech

Produce Market May Grow On Fifth Street

The owner plans to offer fruit, vegetables, jams, jellies and plants.

Come spring, St. Charles may have another choice in the roadside produce market.

Tim Evans expects to open his tent-based produce outlet at the intersection of North Fifth and Clark Streets April 1. The approved a conditional use permit for the produce stand Feb. 3. 

Evans, 51, has big plans for the stand. The lifelong St. Charles resident plans to offer a wide selection of fruit and vegetable choices, much of it grown on a tract of land he has rented near Old Monroe. A selection of jams, jellies and honey will also be available for purchase.

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He expects about three-quarters of his products to be from locally grown sources. More exotic items, such as pineapples or mangos will need to come from other suppliers. Evans said he was conversing with a nearby Amish community for some of jam and jelly products but had not yet reached a final decision on a supplier.

“We’ll even have a request list if we don’t carry something, because we want to please the community,” he said.

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The 51 year old said the stand could be in operation extending through the warm months and until Halloween.

Though that wouldn’t preclude him from other offerings later in the season.

“We also might do Christmas trees, too,” he said. “I don’t know yet.”

Evans plans for some of his produce to be organic, grown by an uncle who has been doing organic farming for a decade. Not all of Evans’s products will be edible either. Flowers and other plants will be available in the spring.

Evans said the stand will accept cash, charge and EBT cards.

“Not many people carry cash anymore,” he said. “It’s all debit cards.”

St. Charles City Council members were supportive of the plans and even talked Evans into opening the market earlier. 

"I don't want to limit you," said Councilman Bob Kneemiller, Ward 4. 

With approval from Evans, the City Council amended the approved hours for the stand to be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Friday-Sunday.

"We went from a couple of plants to hanging plants to now he's got to be up at 5:30 a.m.," said Mayor Patti York. "I know he's excited about this. We've all been to these things, we want to give you the greatest parameters we can." 

Evans said he thinks the rise in vegetarianism combined with a desire to find an outlet other than the standard supermarket will help drive demand for his products.

“People would rather go buy produce at an open-air market,” he said.

Lowell Bailey knows something about that kind of market. Based in Calhoun County, IL, he’s been selling produce from a portable stand on the back of his truck four days a week on Fifth Street for the better part of a decade.

“It’s all location, location, location,” he said, noting that hard work and patience play a role as well.

“You also need a good place for people to pull off without hampering traffic,” he said.

Like Evans, Bailey said that his customers are increasingly looking for an alternative to grocery store fruit and vegetables.

“People are always wanting fresh produce,” he said. “When they buy from me, they know I’m bringing it right out of the garden.”

Bailey said he doesn’t worry about increased competition.

“No, it don’t bother me a bit,” he said. “Over the years, you build up your own customers.”

For Evans, his new venture is the culmination of a dream.

“I’ve been looking at that spot for a long time,” said Evans of the lot he will be renting at 517 N. Fifth. “I’ve been wanting to go into this business for 10 years. I just haven’t had the time to do it.”

He also isn’t afraid of the hard work and patience Bailey mentioned. At present, Evans does a little bit of everything from plowing snow to renovating homes.

“Everybody says, ‘You are going to work seven days a week,’” Evans said. “I said, ‘I work all the time now.’”

Kalen Ponche contributed to this article. 

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