From chick to chic: This farmstand went from eggs to a one-stop shop

From a brick platform to an armoire to a chic shack, this Buckeye farm stand knows how to make a statement. 

The Lil Red Barn Ranch, 29920 W. Pierce Street, is a stand-alone farmstand on the outskirts of Buckeye. Decorated in white, black and red, it beckons from the road behind a vintage tractor. 

“Built from scratch with love and lots of screaming, blood, sweat and tears,” owner Linda Whitehead said of the stylish shack. 

The stand runs on an honor system with self-pay options listed inside, including Zelle, Apple Pay, Cash App and Venmo.  

The stand is self-serve and always open. The inventory is posted daily on her Facebook page.  

Despite her husband’s misgivings about whether she could turn a profit, Whitehead opened her first stand in 2022.  

The stand was only large enough to hold eggs and a couple of jam jars, but it started making about $50 a week, covering her feed costs.  

Whitehead’s stand also received a lot of media attention because she carried and sold eggs at a fraction of the cost during a nationwide egg shortage last year. 

Once she started making sourdough, she upgraded to an armoire. The armoire had two doors on the bottom where she would place special orders with a space for carton and jar returns.  

But, like its predecessor, it wasn’t refrigerated. Whitehead was using ice to keep the food cool, switching the ice twice a day, once on the way to work at 4 a.m. and then again at 4 p.m. when she came home. 

She told her husband, David Whitehead, she needed a refrigerator. 

The refrigerator holds farm-fresh eggs, jams and different types of salsa. Whitehead also stocks the stand with a “sourdough of the week,” cake pops, cookies and banana bread. 

When her garden is in season, the stand is also filled with vegetables from her garden.  

The shelving unit holds shelf-stable items like jalapeño salt and basil–pink Himalayan salt as well as goodies like scented soap, jewelry and kids’ craft projects. 

Whitehead carries items from three other vendors: Desert Hooligan, Donkey Creek Ranch and Desert Diva Designz. 

She estimates the stand makes about $20 a day during the week and about $200 over the weekend, allowing her to cover feed costs for her farm animals. 

Now that her feed costs are covered and she’s making profit, her husband has stopped protesting. 

“Now he appreciates it,” Whitehead said. “Especially since I’m no longer complaining about switching the ice out.”