By Kay Harris
HAHIRA — Following a sign from above, the Stanfills have reopened the Packhouse Market in Hahira.
Kelly Stanfill and his family lived in Jacksonville, Fla., for 18 years, followed by several years in St. Cloud, Fla., working in the construction industry. They frequently traveled through South Georgia, and on one trip his wife and her sister came upon a small park in Hahira at the intersection of Stanfill and Lawson streets.
“My son’s name is Lawson Stanfill, and my wife said it was a sign that this is where we were meant to be,” he said.
The Stanfills moved two years ago to the Hahira area, and he continued working in construction. For a short time, business was fine, but as it declined, Stanfill said he knew he had to find something else to do.
“We love Hahira, so we decided to try something new,” he said.
The Packhouse Market was a successful organic and fresh produce store that opened on Church Street, but the owners were involved in several other ventures.
So, despite its popularity, the market closed.
Stanfill said he is leasing the store from the previous owner and will be carrying on the tradition of selling fresh produce from area farmers, as well as adding fresh seafood.
“I have a lot of contacts in the seafood industry in Florida, and I’ll go down there once a week to bring it back fresh,” Stanfill said.
The market will carry fresh grouper, snapper, crab claws, shrimp, oysters and scallops in season, and Stanfill said he is able to sell at lower than market prices, so he hopes to gain a following from the community. He said he is already hearing great feedback from customers and the market has only been reopened for about two weeks.
Once he has the market running smoothly and he’s finished with the renovations, etc., Stanfill has plans to add an area for crafts, gardening items and plants, and a smoker in the back of the shop to prepare the seafood for sale, but not for consumption on site.
He is already enthusiastically planning to participate in downtown activities and will be part of the Hahira Honey Bee festival in October.
And once the city of Hahira okays it, Stanfill will also be able to offer local wines from the Horse Creek Winery in Nashville.
“We were looking for a niche in the market — something different that Valdosta didn’t have — and I think we’ve found it,” said Stanfill.
The Packhouse Market is located on Church Street in Hahira and is open Thursday and Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.
