WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — The Boyette family is one of the pioneering families of Wesley Chapel, calling this area home since 1843.
Calvin Boyette grew up on the family homestead on Boyette Road (now home to multiple generations of the family and Boyette Farms). Back then, he remembers about 100 people living within a four—or five-mile radius.
The Boyettes farmed watermelons and logged all throughout Wesley Chapel and Pasco County.
Calvin remembers when I-75 and Bruce B. Downs started to spur some development, but it was two other things that were a big catalyst for the changing landscape of Wesley Chapel.
"In the late 70s, we had a cold that killed a few of the orange groves. And you know, that time, the land prices were going up, and some of them sold instead of replanting citrus. Then at 83 and 84, we had severe freezes that killed a majority of the citrus that was left because I mean all of this was citrus, pretty much everything going that way for two or three miles were citrus," explains Calvin, a fifth generation Boyette.
A few years ago, Calvin's son Brooks started Boyette Farms on their family homestead.
Brooks decided he wanted to continue the family farming tradition and provide fresh, quality fruits and vegetables to his community.
If they don't grow it here, they're partnering with other local farmers.
"So we usually carry it's probably, on average, usually over 100 different items every day. We focus on the local and in-season," Brooks said. "So whatever is the season, we're going to bring that in. We have a couple other partners that we have, Zephyrhills Mushrooms, we have Third-acre Microgreens who's in Brooksville. We have HM Cattle that comes out once a week. And then we also have a local seafood vendor that comes out twice a week. So, just an effort to help get that stuff to the folks in Wesley Chapel."
In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, Brooks' sister Laci Stokes wanted to get back to life on the farm, too.
She also remembers growing up on this land when nothing was around and the roads were dirt.
But, when COVID-19 hit, she felt the need for a change and moved back to the family homestead.
In November, she took a chance and opened Boyette Fresh, a food truck on the farm selling acai bowls, smoothies and more.
"We have three generations of the family living on the farm. And now I get to work on the farm every single day. I loved what I did for the past 15 years, but my mama heart wasn't happy," said Stokes. "I just wanted to be on the farm with my parents, my brother, my aunt, and being able to do this just brings me such joy. And it's so cool being able to be in the community again."
On just about any given day the farm is open, you can find a member of the family there, and they would love to tell you more about their family history.
The farm is open Tuesday to Saturday, pending weather.
You can follow the farm on Facebook here or Boyette Fresh here.
You may also recognize a familiar face in some of these pictures, Carley Boyette is the former host of Tampa Bay's Morning Blend and is married to Brooks Boyette.
