Barnesville, GA |
Allie Andrews is someone who has a lot going on. She, her husband, and three kids run and operate a family farm in Lamar County that includes hay, poultry, and beef cattle. But as if that weren’t enough, Allie’s newest venture is Mae’s on the Corner — a small farm stand that has quickly become a community favorite.
“Mae’s on the Corner is about a two-acre vegetable garden where we grow all sorts of veggies — from tomatoes to black-colored sweet corn, squash, zucchini, green beans, butter beans,” said Andrews. “Along with Mae’s on the Corner, we have our shack, and in our shack, I love to personalize things for friends, family, and our community. We do sourdough bread, sourdough cookies, cinnamon rolls, an herb mix for the bread, and blueberry muffins.”
The baked goods didn’t start with a business plan — they came out of a personal health journey. But once friends and family got a taste, they encouraged Andrews to sell, and from there, things moved quickly.
“In February of last year, I had a little pop-up table in the front yard starting at six in the morning for teachers and people heading to school and work, and I sold out within about an hour,” Andrews said. “Every month after that — either the first or second Monday or Tuesday — I’d pop up my table, and it just grew from there.”
What started as a table of baked goods has grown into a full farm stand experience, with fresh produce from their garden added thanks to the involvement of the whole family. For Andrews, that’s not just a convenience — it’s a conviction.
“We are raising the next generation to take over, and I can’t say that’s always the mindset on some farms. We want our kids to know we work for everything we get,” Andrews said. “If we’re not training up our kids — if we’re not allowing them to pick with us, plant with us, ride the tractor — who’s going to learn behind us? I think it’s just the coolest way to have them on the front lines, seeing it, putting in the hard work, understanding discipline. And in that discipline, you get to see the reward of the harvest.”
For Andrews, Mae’s on the Corner has become more than a farm stand — it’s a way to serve the community she lives and works in. And now, as a member of the Georgia Farm Bureau Certified Farm Market program, that reach has grown considerably, drawing visitors from across the state.
“I hope that people gain the understanding that there’s a lot of work that goes into it, and they can appreciate shopping local because of that work,” Andrews said. “We have people with the passport that have come from Milledgeville, Athens, North Georgia, South Georgia, east, west — they’re all popping into these little shops and markets and shopping local. And to hear someone in the grocery store or at church say, ‘Hey, we stopped by your stand — you have the cutest setup,’ that means everything.”
For Allie Andrews, Mae’s on the Corner is proof that a pop-up table in the front yard, a loaf of sourdough, and a whole lot of heart can grow into something that feeds an entire community.