purchased a few additional aces from neighbor Julia Allen. In 1979, the land was rezoned and the flea market was officially opened. The market then had six-acres. A few years later another 10 acres of low land to the north was purchased from Cleotis and Rebecca Smith. Through the years, additional acreage was purchased and the market now has 35-40 acres. In the late 80s the Florida State Farmers market, located on the west side of Plant City, closed its market to vendors, fruit and vegetable pickers and farmers. This was when Waller added the Farmer part to the Flea Market, officially making it the Plant City Farm & Flea Market. “Our Farmers Market is open seven days a week, closing only on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Waller, adding that the flea market portion of the business is only open on Wednesdays. “The Farmers Market is open to the public, but it is a large, wholesale market with more than 100 vendors occupying more than nine-acres and only a few items are available in small quantities.” Through the years, the Plant City Farm and Flea Market has grown to become one of the largest independent Farmers markets in the southeastern U.S. “Thousands of truckloads of produce come through the market each year,” noted Waller. “There are millions of dollars of business being done annually at the market by the hundreds of vendors and farmers who sell here.” It is commonplace for produce dealers from throughout Florida, Georgia and Alabama to purchase semi-trailer loads of produce at the market several times each week. “Eckerd College did an economic impact study of what the market contributed to the local economy over 25 years ago,” said Waller. “The numbers back then were between $65 and $75 million annually. It is estimated that the number would well exceed $250 million today.” That’s not too bad for a business that grew through hard work and persistence and no government incentives. Waller said approximately 90 percent of the produce at the market is sold to restaurants, grocery stores and hundreds of fruit and vegetable dealers that sell along road sides. “You will find produce from the
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Plant City Market in the local fruit and vegetable stores in most any town or flea market in Florida and parts of Alabama and Georgia.” Waller’s ventures at the market location also include produce bags, the design and production of signs, design and silk screening for tshirts and metal roofing. His son Mark operates I-4 Power Equipment, which used to be located on the market site, but now operates from a larger facility on the I-4 south frontage road just west of Park Road. Waller’s most recent addition includes three businesses in Nobleton, Florida. They include River Ratz Café and a canoe/kayak rental – all along the Withlacoochee River and an RV Park a short distance away. Son Steve oversees those businesses. Waller and his wife Peggy also have a daughter Stephanie, who is involved in pharmaceutical sales (a “drug dealer,” according to her father) after an extended role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as public relations director under Hugh Culverhouse and the early years of the Glazer family ownership. Ferris and Peggy recently completed what was to have been a storage barn for his collection of tractors with a second floor for her sewing, but that has become Kathleen’s Garden & Grandpa’s Event Barn. Both are located on lands owned by Peggy’s family north of Knights Griffin on Pless Road, aptly named after her family. Those plans have changed and the facility has become an increasingly popular venue for weddings and other types of special events. Not at all a surprise given Waller’s record of success over the years. Despite his diverse record of achievement in a variety of businesses, Waller describes success as “working long and hard and acquiring more property than you can pay taxes on.” He also likes to remind people of what one of his high school classmates wrote under his yearbook photo, “What he doesn’t know would make a good book.” As noted at the outset, Ferris Waller has brought self-deprecation to lofty heights, but he is still a Plant City businessman with an enviable record of achievement. Find out more about the Plant City Farm & Flea Market and how to get on Ferris’ blog by visiting: http://www. plantcitymarket.com.
INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
June 2015
71