Plans for a Roadside Market.—A roadside market need not be expensive to be attractive. The thought motivating the whole project should be to create in the buyer’s mind a farm scene, laying emphasis upon such factors as are easily associated in the public mind with farming. These include neatness of the establishment, cleanliness and honesty in every phase of the operation. One should not undertake to run a roadside market in competition, so far as appearance goes, with the corner grocery store in the city. It should have an individuality of its own and be of the country as well as in the country.
The location of the market has a great deal to do with its attractiveness. It is well to locate it a short distance from the house, so that it stands out as a market, and it should be placed back from the highway to permit motorists to drive off the highway in making stops for purchases. In some states, highway regulations require that such stands be located far enough from the highway to permit all four wheels of a standing vehicle to be off the road surface. If the stand can be located under some good shade trees, that in itself constitutes an invitation to the sun-blinded traveler to stop and partake of the commodities offered for sale.
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A wayside market that meets every need and attracts buyers.
So far as the design of the market itself is concerned, there are endless opportunities for one’s genius to be brought into operation. It should be borne in mind that, while there are certain standard requirements in the way of display shelves and facilities for keeping reserve stocks immediately available, as well as a safe container for funds, originality in design attracts attention. Here again, the design should not be obtrusive, but one that blends with the atmosphere of the place where the stand is set up. It must convey the impression that the owner of the property is himself the operator of the stand and has transferred to the stand the same interest which is manifested in his home and its immediate surroundings.
Most purchasers at roadside stands want to see the whole display without having to stumble over baskets and other articles to find out what is offered, and they expect prompt attention. As a general rule, the more nearly the stand can supply the complete needs of the purchaser in that field, the more likely are buyers to stop and become regular patrons. In addition to the display of seasonable fruits and vegetables, it is desirable to have eggs and dairy products, including butter, cottage cheese, canned fruits or jellies that have the home-made farm atmosphere about them.
In most cases, ice is available or electric refrigeration can be utilized for keeping cold milk, buttermilk, cider and other products available for immediate consumption for the hot and thirsty traveler in the summertime. Hot coffee or hot chocolate can be made available for service in colder weather. Very often the road-stand operator destroys the genuine sales appeal that such stands have by specializing in manufactured concoctions that have no relation whatever to the location where they are sold. Too often the stands are covered with advertisements of such commodities, and this immediately creates sales resistance so far as the promotion of fresh farm products is concerned.
Origin of Products Offered.—The ordinary purchaser at a roadside market likes to think that he is buying products raised or processed on the place where they are sold, and believes that he is thereby securing fresher and better commodities in which the seller has had an interest from planting time to harvest. Certainly some of the commodities sold should come directly from the tract where the market is located, and visual evidence should be given of that fact. On the other hand, there is no objection to the addition of other commodities so long as they are in accord with what a producer might be expected to have for sale at that season of the year. Many operators have found that the sale of gasoline and lubricating oil and tobacco in various forms can be offered for sale to good advantage simply as a part of the service being offered by the market to the public.
Quality the Keystone.—The fundamental basis for success in the operation of any roadside market lies in the quality of the products that are offered for sale. This is a rather difficult condition for the operator to maintain consistently, but it is fundamental in securing customers and in keeping them. Products that have become stale, unattractive or unpalatable for any reason should never be offered for sale and should be discarded, made into some by-product or sold through some channel which will not identify the article with the stand itself. A satisfied customer who develops confidence in the integrity and good faith of the stand operator is a decided asset, and no effort spent in cultivating such confidence is wasted.