Twin Oak Farms
Fresh, homegrown, local produce.
Vendor Story
Greg Hartsell & Tim Sloop
Back in 1927, when James Patterson planted his first tomatoes on a farm he called Twin Oaks, he set the stage for a century of success in farming and in business.
James began by distributing the fruits of his farm’s labors into the wholesale markets of the Roaring Twenties. By mid-century, his two sons, Frank and Carl, ran the enterprise.
One summer in the 1970s, they employed a pair of high school buddies named Greg Hartsell and Tim Sloop. Soon after, the Patterson brothers split the business into two farms. When Frank retired, Greg and Tim became the business owners of Frank Patterson Farm. That farm now goes by the revived “Twin Oaks” name, to help customers distinguish it from the likewise well-known “Patterson Farms” name that brother Carl’s farm still carries today.
Clarity in business is important, says Greg. He notes the careful business model of the Davidson Farmers Market itself as a case in point.
“We were founding members when the Davidson market started,” Greg says.
The market’s ongoing and largely smooth success, in his view, originates from the fact that the board is not made up of the farmers themselves or other vendors. That is the case at many farmers markets, he says, but it can carry conflicts of interest over time.
“When they set the Davidson market up, they did it exactly the right way,” he says of the group’s civic origins. “It’s fair and it’s clear and I think everybody understood from the beginning we didn't want to work against each other. There’s plenty of customers to go around for everybody to do well. It’s about the best market we’ve ever done.”
And today, the Davidson Farmer’s Market is a highlight of Twin Oaks’ farming week, a mainstay outlet for their wide variety of seasonal produce grown on 45 Rowan County acres. They also sell at the Salisbury Farmers Market and in regional wholesale distribution markets.
Davidson remains a favorite.
“You see new faces every week,” says Greg, “but over the years we’ve developed relationships with our customers, and we know them by name.”
