Robyn Peterson, left, and her father, Todd Hughey, are shown above. Peterson is working to expand the family business with plans to open a second year-round produce stand in Roebuck while continuing her family’s five-generation legacy of farming. Photo courtesy of Robyn Peterson.
A favorite destination of Spartanburg locals on the hunt for fresh seasonal produce, there’s nowhere like Hughey Farms. The beloved produce stand is located on Asheville Highway in Boiling Springs, and is the summertime home to some of the best peaches and strawberries around.
If you stop by the stand, you’ll likely run into Robyn Peterson, the daughter of Hughey Farms owner Todd Hughey. It’s a family business, one Peterson speaks of with pride.
“My dad and brothers all farm,” she says. “My dad is a fourth generation farmer, and my brother Tyler is a fifth generation farmer.” Though Peterson is a teacher throughout the school year, she says that she’s always spent her summers helping out at the stand. Now, she’s working to expand Hughey Farms with a second location.
“It’s always been something I’ve been passionate about,” she says. “I feel like I’ve kind of gotten the best of both worlds because I’m an art teacher, and I get to work with my dad and my brothers during the summer. My oldest brother [Ethan Hughey] runs my dad’s produce stand, and then my brother Tyler, he’s kind of the brains behind the operation. He’s the one out in the field.”
“My dad bought this stand in 2009,” she says. “My husband and I have been looking for somewhere to have a second location, but we were driving around and found this place in Roebuck. We closed on the land a few months ago, and we’re hoping to build a produce stand on the lot.”
Peterson’s goal is to have a building on the property by the end of the year, and hopes to open the newest produce stand by the spring.
“This is our first time ever building anything, so it’s been a new experience dealing with a commercial property,” she says. “When we bought my dad’s stand, there was already a structure there.”
However, despite the learning curve, Peterson has big dreams for the new addition.
“We’re hoping to have a really nice building, and we’ll keep supplying the same produce,” says Peterson. “Our new lot is bigger than my dad’s produce stand, so I’m also hoping to be able to have food trucks and things like that come set up during the week.”
Her goal is for her husband, Ryan Peterson, to help her dad and brothers farm while she maintains the stand itself. “I enjoy talking to people, and my husband, he enjoys the manual labor work. I’m hoping we all can team up. I’ve always wanted my own stand, but I didn’t really think it was feasible. It’s just all kind of worked out, and I’m really hoping that we’ll be able to do this full time together.”
In recent years, the Hughey Farms stand has transitioned from being a seasonal stand to year-round. “We do Christmas trees in the winter, and we’ll have fall and winter fruits and vegetables. Our new stand will be the same way: open seven days a week, year-round.”
Their consistent community presence has built a loyal following over the years. “That’s one of the coolest things about the stand,” says Peterson. “A lot of the people who come by are our regulars. When you see people every week, they start feeling like family. Everyone’s so nice, and everyone here really seems to want to support locals, so that’s really awesome.”
While the Roebuck location is still being built, the Spartanburg community can find the Hughey Farms produce stand at 9295 Asheville Highway. Hughey Farms produce can also be found at the Hub City Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Greer Farmers Market on Sundays.
