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"Lynn Hudgins has shed many tears these past few weeks as she prepares to close Stoney&#039;s Produce on First Colonial Road. It&#039;s been more than 20 years since she and her husband, Bill, opened the farm stand.He&#039;s retiring, and she plans to relocate the business next year. Cullipher Farms will open at the First Colonial spot this spring.Hudgins&#039; tears turned into a hearty laugh, though, as the couple reminisced about the good old days.There was the time Sadie the pig escaped.It was a hot day when the &amp;quot;big old sow,&amp;quot; as Lynn called her, ventured down the busy corridor. Children stared from school bus windows. Sadie fainted. Bill carried her back to the farm and cooled her off with water from the garden hose.It wasn&#039;t unusual to see a host of animals at Stoney&#039;s through the years – chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep.But the people are what Bill will miss the most. &amp;quot;Luckily, we were right in a hub where we could have some excellent clients,&amp;quot; he said.His favorite season is fall, when children come to pick out pumpkins.With its cardinal red barn and fields of leafy crops and bright zinnias, Stoney&#039;s stood out along a corridor of bland medical buildings. Families traipsed through the clam-shell parking lot with red wagons in tow, filling them with flowers and vegetable plants in the spring and pumpkins and gourds in the fall.The Hudginses opened Stoney&#039;s, named after their dog, in 1992. Bill, who had been in the homebuilding industry, accepted his wife&#039;s suggestion for a change in careers.&amp;quot;We&#039;ll just open up a little stand and sit on the side of the road and read a book,&amp;quot; she had said.So much for down time. The business took off beyond their expectations. Stoney&#039;s developed a relationship with customers who returned season after season for fresh produce and garden items. Bill worked the fields, and Lynn handled the retail.&amp;quot;It turned into a major job,&amp;quot; Bill said.Stoney&#039;s was originally where Linkhorn Park Elementary School is now. It moved up the street in 1996 to a nine-acre site across from Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. The Potter family owns the land.Stoney&#039;s top seller has always been tomatoes; Lynn&#039;s tomato pies are a summer staple. She adds Vidalia onions, two kinds of cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, fresh basil, salt and pepper in a baked pie shell.Julie Thompson, who grew up in the country in Pennsylvania, has shopped at Stoney&#039;s for years.&amp;quot;It&#039;s like going back home,&amp;quot; she said.The Hudginses will continue to dismantle the farm through the end of the year. Remaining inventory is marked down by 50 to 75 percent.Baskets of produce, along with soaps, candlesticks and pottery, remained in the barn Tuesday.Sharon Wagner combed through a collection of miniature glass bottles.&amp;quot;I&#039;m finding little treasures,&amp;quot; she said.Out in the field behind the barn, Bill used a sharp knife to swiftly cut the last heads of broccoli off the plants.&amp;quot;You better come quick,&amp;quot; he said.Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com"
<https://www.pilotonline.com/business/article_b8fad794-2467-523e-abea-019fc60c7981.html>