St. Simons honor market operator asks for community support
Aug. 14—For five years, Don Maxey has worked to keep a small produce market stocked on Demere Road near the McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport.
He's now searching for a new site. Recent regulations handed down by the Federal Aviation Administration require the little parcel to be cleared.
Robert Burr, executive director of the Glynn County Airport Commission, let the commission's position be known on the matter: the St. Simons airport is permitted by the FAA and it has to meet FAA regulations to stay open.
"Our main mission is the airport. Other uses can't compromise our mission to operate the airport," Burr said.
The regulations call for a "runway object-free area," which has to be cleared of any and all obstructions. That includes the pole barn under which Maxey, owner of Uncle Don's Local Market on Frederica Road, runs his honor market.
Maxey says he has until April 2024 to clear out.
Clearing the object-free area is part of a larger process of general safety improvements and upgrades at the airport, Burr said, including rebuilding the taxiway and lining the end of the runways with a material that will gently halt aircraft that overrun the paved surface.
None of this was a surprise to Maxey, and he doesn't blame the airport commission. He was warned early on that the FAA would want more space cleared around the runways eventually.
"But it is kind of a blow to me," Maxey said.
Maxey started the market operation about five years ago. It was open five days a week initially as just a typical roadside produce stand stocked with some extra produce from the store — all of which comes from Southeast Georgia and Northeast Florida.
Some was a little too fresh at the time he spoke with The News on Wednesday. The peaches, for example, still needed a few days to fully ripen but would be perfect after a time in the shade during Georgia's hot and humid days.
Keeping it open during the summer was a lot to ask of staff, given the sweltering Georgia heat. He decided to try out the honor market system. He and his staff drop off produce daily, he said, and customers pay what they want via a cash box or Venmo.
"It worked. Most pay what's listed. Some pay more, some people forget to pay or can't pay," Maxey said. "Especially during the pandemic, people would sit in the parking lot and wait for the last customer to leave."
He has an idea for a new location. Just down the road, at the corner of Demere and Old Demere roads is a vacant parcel owned by Glynn County. There's a small sliver of space next to a water treatment facility operated by the Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water and Sewer Commission that isn't good for much, but it's just the right size for one of the pole barns that he rents from the county on the airport parcel.
Maxey encourages citizens to contact their county commissioners about it.
"If the people want this, I want the community to let their voices be heard," he said.
