NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If anyone had asked Michael Maples five years ago whether he would farm, he would have probably laughed.
"We're not selling eggs," said Maples of Maples Farm Fresh Eggs. "We're trying to sell the experience of home."
His egg stand off of Brick Church Pike has become somewhat of a hidden gem in the community.
At $5 a carton, customers use the honor system: they buy their eggs and leave their money.
"But our goal is not to get as much out of people as we can," said Maples. "Our goal is to put as much into the community as we can."
Now on the heels of soaring egg prices, he says sales are wild to the point he can't keep up.
"We have a shock on both sides," said Julio Rivas, associate professor of finance at Lipscomb University. "There's less production so there are less eggs available, then there are more people buying them, especially during the holidays."
But Rivas said the egg market is due for a correction.
"Another thing we need to consider is what we call 'sticky prices'," he said. "As prices go up, sometimes it takes a little bit to go down."
Despite the bird flu, which has killed off millions of chickens, Maples is confident supply will once again meet demand.
"From the time that an egg hatches, that chicken can be laying within 16 weeks," he said.
Until then, Maples hopes customers find comfort in knowing his prices will stay the same and his stand is open to everyone.
"Don't come here because you're scared," said Maples. "Come here because you want healthy eggs, and maybe you want to make a friend. That's it. We're going to sell them for the most affordable price that we can, and that's not going to change."
