The line forms Friday, July 8, at locations in Cleveland, Ooltewah, East Ridge and Hixson for fresh Georgia peaches from The Peach Truck.The Peach Truck’s area stops
Friday, July 8 (and Friday, July 29)8 a.m. Tractor Supply Co., 2750 Keith St. NW, Cleveland10:30 a.m. Ooltewah Nursery & Landscape Co., address.1 p.m. East Ridge Hardware, 5337 Ringgold Road3 p.m. Holcomb Garden Center, 5513 Highway 153, HixsonSaturday, July 23Noon. The Celtic Cup, 106 N. Anderson St., Tullahoma2:30 p.m. Beans Creek Winery, 426 Ragsdale Road, Manchester
The Peach Truck has been rambling about the region for the better part of a month now, but Friday, July 8, it makes its first stops in Bradley and Hamilton counties.
The schedule starts at 8 a.m. at Tractor Supply Co. in Cleveland, then travels south for pit stops at Ooltewah Nursery & Landscape at 10:30 a.m., East Ridge Hardware at 1 p.m. and Holcomb Garden Center in Hixson at 3 p.m.
If you can’t make it Friday, or if you’ll be ready for more in a month, the truck will make a second run through the area on Friday, July 29, following the same schedule.
The Peach Truck is a project of Stephen and Jessica Rose. Stephen spent most of his childhood summers at a peach farm in his hometown on Fort Valley, Ga. When he moved to Nashville in 2010, he made the disheartening discovery that no grocers carried fresh-picked Georgia peaches, something he considers a non-negotiable staple of summer in the South. Even more disheartening, as explained on the company website, “no one around him seemed to know what they were missing.”
Soon, he and Jessica began dreaming of a way to partner with Stephen’s hometown peach farm to bring the prized peaches not only to Nashville and beyond.
In 2012, the Roses bought a ’64 Jeep truck and hauled in Georgia peaches to sell at a Nashville farmers market. Within five weeks, residents had gobbled up more than 10 tons of the sweet, juicy fruit.
The Roses have since expanded the harvest (and their business team) to provide fresh Georgia peaches on a route that extends into clusters of cities in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. But only in June and July – when Georgia peaches are at their peak.
See the full schedule at thepeachtruck.com.