Smith Farms will be reopening its popular farmersí market stand at the corner of U.S. Highway 24 and Meridian Road in July. The produce stand is joined by a new venture this year. Espresso X is now located on the same property, replacing Bikini Xpresso, which closed after two attempts at its Falcon location.The Rocky Ford, Colorado-based Smith family has sold melons and other produce from their Falcon stand for six years. This yearís crop is looking promising, despite a cold winter and late frosts, said Adam Smith. ìAs always, the cantaloupe is the best, and we have good looking tomatoes and water-melons,î Smith said. ìEverything is looking good this year, but will be delayed.îThe farm stand has been a fixture at the corner property while other businesses have come and gone. ìWe knew after the first season that we were here to stay in Falcon,î Smith said. ìWe have such a great customer base, and here we are six years later.îSmith and his team have watched numerous food service stands rotate through the space that Espresso X occupies. The most recent business, Bikini Xpresso, offended some of his customers, Smith said. Bikini Xpresso still operates three Colorado Springs locations, after closing its Falcon stand.Smith said Espresso X was created quickly to keep a planned more risquÈ business from opening there. ìMy intentions were to protect the produce customers and the community,î Smith said. ìI got a feel for who was coming otherwise, and got scared. I had first shot with the landlord since we were there longest, but we couldnít tell the landlord not to bring the other folks in at all.îThe baristas at Espresso X will still be serving coffee in bikinis.Some Falcon residents are upset that Smith is opening a coffee stand with a similar suggestive marketing concept as its predecessors. An unknown user created a fake account using Smithís name and picture to protest the coffee stand on the Facebook page ìFalcon Community Events and Special Deals,î said Janet McMonigal, who administers the page. At least 12 members posted replies defending or attacking the decision to open Espresso X in the hours before Facebook removed the post and the fake account for terms of service violation. The post included images from the Colorado Secretary of State business records website showing Smith as the owner of the business name.Smith said he was aware of the Facebook posts. ìSome people make assumptions and run with them,î he said. The poor sales performance of the earlier coffee and bakery stands in the space led Smith and the land owner, Sam Thomas, to settle on a compromise between standard coffee stands and theeven more suggestive versions he was trying to avoid, Smith said. ìWeíre a lot more conservative than that last one,î Smith said.
