Shady Acres Village: Fr uit Stand Turned Farmstead BY SUSAN MARQUEZ Back when times were simpler, a car trip would often include a stop at a roadside fruit stand. With the car loaded up with juicy peaches and strawberries for homemade ice cream, or a watermelon waiting to be iced down once you reached your destination, the fruit stand was a much-anticipated stop while traveling. When Martha and Tommy Mixon started their small produce stand on Highway 49 in Seminary, they could never have imagined that Shady Acres would become the sprawling roadside attraction it is today. “They started selling watermelons under a big shade tree,” says Katrina Shotts, who serves as general manager of Shady Acres Village. “They had a little honor box where customers would leave their money before taking a melon.” Today, Shady Acres Village has become a destination as much as it is a stop while on the road. The sprawling business features a general store, bakery, café and garden center. “The Mixons just kept adding small buildings as they were able to,” explains Katrina. The couple eventually sold Shady Acres, and a few years later, it burned. The Mixons were able to get the land back, and they rebuilt Shady Acres before selling it to Matthew and Julia Pierce, who are the current owners. Katrina has been at Shady Acres since it reopened in 2013. The general store features a wide array of made-in-Mississippi products, including rows of Shady Acres branded jams, jellies, pickles and preserves. In the summer, the interior is also filled with mountains of local produce. Depending on
28 • June/July 2022
