I don’t know about you, but I LOVE a good roadside stand. And here in Maine there are plenty of them to choose from.
Selling baked goods alongside the road… Is this a thing where you live?
Here in Maine I’ve seen everything from roadside stands selling handmade dog leashes {as in, the only thing in the stand was dog leashes!!} to pretty much every combination of baked goods, plants and fresh vegetables.
Momo’s cheesecakes sells cheesecake slices out of her garage, Puzzle Mountain Bakery sells not only pies, but the best maple cookies I’ve ever had in my life.
Rose Cottage Bakery sells out of an old shed and I even bought mittens once off the unattended front porch of a woman who had her stuff in large plastic tubs on a picnic table under her window.
And honey. Honey is big around here too.
I absolutely ADORE this about Maine. And you know what else? All of these stands are on the honor system.
Simply drop your money in the cash box, old coffee can, zip baggie or desk drawer. You never know what you’re going to come across while driving down the roads here in Maine.
It’s kind of exciting! 🙂
Yada yada yada, yesterday I came across a cookie and whoopie pie stand and had to stop.
How cute is that whale cookie! Seriously. So stinkin’ cute.
Homemade cookies were $4 each and bars/brownies were $5 each.
Congo bars… I had never heard of them. Have you had one before?
How do you prefer your brownies… With or without nuts? I’m not the biggest walnut fan in the world, but I do like chopped pecans in baked goods.
I love the honor system boxes. It just has such a feel good element to it. People trust you to do the right thing. I love it.
After much deliberation I bought the whale cookie and a chocolate brownie.
Let’s just say… I’ll be back!
Are there any little roadside stands where you live? If so, what do they sell? I keep hoping I’ll come across one with scones and clotted cream. 🙂
~Mavis
Jamie says
The whale cookie is cute! There are a lot of these around MD, especially in the rural areas. Close to our home are honey, eggs, vegetable, corn (only), and sourdough bread stands. I can almost pickup all my groceries for a week by hitting these little stands on the way home from work.
Nancy Settel says
Oh I love this little stand and I KNEW as soon as I saw the whale cookie that had Mavis written all over it. We don’t seem to have them around here in our neck of the woods but I sure have seen so many while visiting Maine and most places in New England. There is nothing like the vibe you get in New England. Soldier through with your test tasteing (how else could you possible know if they are good or not).
Book Club Elaine says
Sadly no, theft is too big a problem where I live. I LOVE that the baker hand wrote out all the ingredients for each item. So thoughtful!
Rebecca says
Aw, man! That brownie looks like the much-loved “Lunch Lady” brownies from the 80’s. I’d visit that stand every day!!
Brianna says
None where I live. I know a beekeeper who tried this with honey and it was stolen. Luckily he only put out a few bottles at a time, but he warned our bee club about it. The little libraries and little pantries have had problems, so now they are usually in foyers. I live outside of DC in an urban area and some kids just aren’t raised right with morals and have entitlement. They skip fares for metro, bus, etc and steal from stores, it is disgusting. I had someone even steal my hose hooked up to the spigot in our last neighborhood here.
Those cookies are so beautifully decorated!
Teri says
That’s how it is where I live too 🙁
Yma P says
Just sayin’ – have you found a great maple cream filled cookie recipe yet?? I may have been waiting since 2020… 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope. Those ones were the BEST!
Jean C says
Not maple filled, but these maple thumbprint cookies are excellent
https://www.landolakes.com/recipe/8476/maple-pecan-thumbprints/
Sam says
Starting to be a thriving cottage business in Minnesota. We also have a neighbor who does egg rolls periodically and they’re so good.
linda says
We had a citrus stand in a little town nearby. Not sure if it’s still there. Too much theft around here.
Rosemary says
The most common thing I see (in Florida) is someone selling watermelons. I think it might be too hot to sell much else without refrigeration . . .
maureen detmer says
i used to work for audubon up in maine and we would buy roadside pies from a lady down the road for all the workshop attendees on a weekly basis, the pies were great and i always wanted to do my own roadside stand after that. she had twinkle lights and everything, good memories
Dawn says
We have a few of these near me but mostly they sell eggs and honey no baked goods. I miss the roadside corn stand I used to go to when I lived in Maine. I think we stopped there a few times a week.
RobininSoCal says
Here is So Cal we have lots of sourdough porch pickup’s. I know of two different cookie carts in town. Also lots of fresh eggs, honey, veggies in season. We have an abundance of citrus so most of that is just given away for free, which is lovely.
Sue in SoCal says
Sadly no roadside baked goodies here. We do have a free little library box at our neighborhood park and a neighbor has a dog toy exchange basket in front of his house. I think that is so stinkin’ cute!
Katy @ Practical Walk says
When I lived in upstate NY as a kid people would sell homegrown produce, I remember corn stands.
Lisa C says
I just Love reading your posts!
Sue Thompson says
I have the cutest little farm stand close to me. She puts out farm fresh eggs in the morning that she keeps in a cooler with ice in the bottom. You have to get there early cause they are the best. She sells some small plants and cuttings and makes the cutest handcrafted items and has small gifts like seeds to attract bees and butterfly’s.
She also has the container to put your money in much like the one in your photo. She keeps a pad and pencil to write what your are purchasing and the amount of money you are spending. I smile when I pass by her stand. There will be veggies to buy later as they come in and are ready here in Alabama.
SueD says
Honey, straw, eggs, and corn are the usual roadside stands around me. Very rarely, flowers. Though there’s 1 stand every August/September that a family runs. The kids grow sunflowers and sell them to earn money for uni.
Dana says
I live near a large fishing lake in Oklahoma. One of the stands here sell little containers of worms. It’s kinda funny.
Renay T Bennett says
You know what I love? The beautiful cursive writing!
Tonya says
I grew up eating Congo Bars (choc chip cookies in bar form) in North Carolina and Mississippi mud bars. Have you eaten a Mississippi mud bar?
They were so good. I love the nostalgia. I grew up on a 500 acre farm but we didn’t have a roadside stand because we lived 15 min from town and no one drove out that far.
Mavis Butterfield says
Those sound a lot like mine minus the glaze.They are my all time favorite brownie. https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/mavis-rocky-road-brownie-recipe/
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
Like Tonya, here in NC. I’ve eaten many a Congo bar. My sister in law makes them. Very rich, gooey and delicious!
Julie P says
Wow that lady’s handwriting is beautiful it reminds me of how I was taught to write at primary school here in England. That’s a stall to die for, cakes and cookies.
Where I live you don’t see many stalls but I have one :). It’s called Julie’s fruit and veg and my neighbour made me a lovely sign for it. I sell plants May through to first crops of veg then it’s all tomatoes cucumbers, your favourite thing, courgettes which grow in abundance whatever the weather and anything else extra from the garden. In the autumn I put out jam and the only thing that’s ever been stolen are runner beans. Our garden camera caught the lady who had stopped but didn’t pay in a very expensive new Mercedes. It takes all sorts! Again it’s on an honour system.
A local bee keeper sells her honey successfully but sadly I hear tales of people’s produce and honey getting stolen in other villages. It’s a changing world.
Lori says
Hi Mavis,
I live in Vermont. Howdy neighbor! We have a few roadside stands. Most of them sell eggs, baked goods, honey, maple syrup, and plants. There is one I go to that is like a nursery with so many plants. In the spring they sell plant starts. They have tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash, watermelon, every plant you can think of. Then in summer they there is all kinds of veggies. They have a huge garden plowed by horses! I love it so much. I love a good roadside stand. Mavis somehow I knew you would end up with that whale cookie the minute I saw it.
Deb K says
Oh yum!! Congo Bars are a treasured recipe from my grandmother.
Lin says
Definitely a thing in north Idaho, they’re everywhere, and all on the honor system.
Jessica says
Sourdough! That is the big one lately! The one closest to me has a fancy roadside stand, a dedicated facebook following and when its a special event time- mothers/fathers day/easter etc she does presale orders. Started as just plain old sourdough and then flavors.. flights of small boules…bagels, english muffins.. baked goods.. These are 2 older sisters who started this to spend time together and it is a whole thing now!
We also have a cookie lady who has a truck that goes to events but sometimes just sets up outside her home and people stop and grab cookies
Alli Aplet says
Is there any trouble with regulations and licensing requirements? We had a dream of doing something similar in Northern California but ran into all kinds of rules and such. Is it different where you are Mavis?