About Us

Realizing that while home-canned products were healthier and more wholesome than the store bought counterparts- it was rapidly becoming more of a lost art form than a way of life. Wanting to preserve (no pun intended!) this cultural way of living for not only her family but also others, Maria looked for small outlets within the community willing to take on her specialty goods. 

A local honey house was delighted to accept her jam and salsa products, also putting her in contact with another local business in the county called Johnston’s Pumpkin Farm.

While the honey house only operated for a couple of years due to the owner’s poor health, Maria’s relationship with the pumpkin farm thrived and she delivered an increasing number of products to the patch’s gift shop every year on September 30th for its month long selling spree. 

Meanwhile, she worked another full time job to help support the family. After years of service, Maria desired to put more time into her craft. She’d heard from a few of the pumpkin farm’s customers as they’d see her around town throughout the rest of the year, complaining that they wanted to get her jams, breads, and salsa more than one month out of the year! She considered going full out and setting up a year-round shop where she’d create, bake, and can in the back of the store and sell from the front. Her husband, Antony, was supportive of the endeavor and even willing to work with her in the shop as a full-time employee to help her succeed. Her grandmother, mother, and sons even were willing to pitch in (and do!). 

On November 8th, 2007, Maria and Antony opened Maria’s Homemade Country Fare in Greenbrier, Arkansas. They have an ever-increasing stream of repeat customers and continue to provide an even wider array of products for the pumpkin farm (this is her 13th year for them). Maria and her husband couldn’t be happier than to have a room full of customers sampling their homemade products and leaving with bags and baskets of goodies, declaring they’ll come back and bring THEIR families and friends because it’s so rare to find a business willing to create and serve their OWN goods.