Farm Stand Open, Despite Road Closure

A normal Fourth of July weekend at Hillboro Farm’s farm stand would have the stand’s parking lot filled and customers lined up prior to the stand’s 10 a.m. opening.

This year, only a trickle of customers came to Doug and Lynn Van Nuys’ stand that weekend, a result of construction on Hillsborough Road.

 “A lot of people who come here were angry because they didn’t know we were open,” Lynn Van Nuys said. “There’s a number of people out there that thought we were closed because the road is closed.

“Our usual customers have cut through and kind of found out we are open,” she added.

The farm stand is only accessible from Willow Road, since the Route 206 access to Hillsborough Road will remain closed until early October. The New Jersey Department of Transportation closed it in April for reconstruction work on the CSX railroad bridge and for work on the Route 206 bypass.

“I love this farm,” Hillsborough resident Christine Aroco said after buying some of the stand’s vegetables. “But it annoys me that this is not done. This is a beautiful farm and the road is closed. They are missing out on business because of the road.”

“I come here probably two or three times per week but with the road closed, this is my first time to come here,” she added, noting that she learned the farm was open from one of the stand’s signs.

The Van Nuys, who both work full-time and run the farm on the side, have taken out traditional newspaper ads, posted a notice on the farm’s website and Facebook to alert residents about the opening. In addition, they’ve placed signed about the farm in the traditional spots, but the detour signs seem to deter people, according to the Van Nuys.

“We are clearly open,” Doug Van Nuys said. “We are open and the road is accessible to our farm, at least. But the (detour) sign that’s there scares people.”

“No one reads the second sign,” he added. “They read that the road is closed.”

Placing other signs on detour signs is illegal, as the Van Nuys family found out when they placed a notification on one. They’ve since contacted the Hillsborough Police about having official signs from the DOT about their stand.

“The DOT is supposed to have put blue and white signs up that say the business is open,” Lynn Van Nuys said. “The town really isn’t the issue. It’s the transportation department.”

“The township can’t do it,” Doug Van Nuys added. “It has to be the DOT.  .  .the town has been very helpful but the DOT hasn’t responded yet.”

The lack of an official DOT sign compounds an ongoing problem the farm has with its existing signs being taken down or stolen.

“Hopefully, no one else will steal them or take them down,” Lynn Van Nuys said. Until then, it’s waiting for the official signs and hoping their customers spread the word.

“It’s a dirty job,” Lynn Van Nuys said. “But it’s an honest job and people love it and support it. I keep hoping that, in the long run, the bypass will help because the road will stop right there.