A fresh start for popular fruit, veggie seller

'I said I'd never go back into a shop but I think it's a different concept'.

PRODUCING THE GOODS: Clint Borghardt has moved Clint's Farm Fresh Produce into a new shopfront in Ipswich. It is set for its grand opening next weekend. Picture: Rob Williams

THE Borghardt name is one that has long been associated with selling delicious produce in Ipswich.

Now Clint, 28, has started a fresh chapter.

His parents Howard and Sheryl left life on the farm in the Lockyer Valley to buy a fruit and vegetable shop in Redbank Plains three decades ago, a place where Clint was "pretty much brought up".

The Borghardts went on to run four other shops but after they gave it all up, Clint kept selling at weekend markets for years while working as a renderer.

He sold produce out of a shed in Lobb St for 10 months but has moved Clint's Farm Fresh Produce into a shopfront, which will celebrate its grand opening next month.

The new premises will operate as a "weekend farmers market" and be open for business on Fridays and weekends.

During the rest of the week, Clint will drive to pick up produce straight from farms from around the south east, driving up to 800kms a week to collect it.

"I said I'd never go back into a shop but I think it's a different concept," he said.

"(Produce) has always been in my life.

"I don't want (the new premises) to look too much like a shop. I'm not going to be open every day.

"There's been a hell of a lot of loyal customers that follow me every week. I just needed to get in somewhere. I was getting sick of going here, there and everywhere."

In his last weekend selling out of the shed in Lobb St, he served more than 500 customers.

"Hopefully I can grow on that," he said.

Check the business' Facebook page for opening hours. It will be open for business on weekends leading up to its grand opening on October 19 or 20.