Christmas has come early for Antoinette Rodin.

As the summer season has begun to wrap up and pumpkins begin to hint at harvest fun, Rodin has learned her labor of love, Rodin Farms Fruit Stand, is staying put.

Close to three years since Rodin began working diligently with Stanislaus County and the pending impact of the North County Corridor Bypass on her business, she may now take a deep breath and launch the holiday season for her customers as she has for over 30 years.

“We’re going to be able to stay where we’re at,” Rodin stated. “We’ll have to reconfigure our building, because we’ll be so close to the road, but that won’t take place until next year.”

The Rodin family is one of 94 families that have been affected by the plans and construction of the North County Corridor Bypass.

“They’re letting me stay. They pushed the road out,” she said of the bypass construction, “but I have to reconfigure my building. I have to flip it so my front door has to become my back door because I’ll be so close to that turn lane.”

While the storefront widely known by the 209 community located at Claribel and Oakdale roads at the Riverbank-Modesto line will continue to operate, the family has lost close to seven acres of peach and almond trees to date.

Days before beginning harvest of their 10 acres of pumpkins, Rodin anticipates the bypass will affect that farmland as well.

Yet with over a year and a half of uncertainty, in this moment, the owner and operator is thrilled to be able to bring her customers the fall and Christmas season activities they have become accustomed to over the years.

According to Rodin, construction affecting her retail space was to have happened during this summer, yet as fate would have it, that failed to happen and plans have now been pushed to 2026.

“I was in limbo for a minute,” Rodin shared, confessing to having an emotional summer as she contemplated the unknown. “I was nervous on if I needed to cut back on product and then I got the word two weeks ago. So, we’ll be full blown this year and then we’ll deal with next year as it comes.”

Reflecting on the past year and a half, Rodin shared the stress of it all. The not knowing of where the stand would go, how it would continue to serve the community or if it would be sustainable as a source of livelihood.

As she admits to worrying about all of this and more, she also gives credit to the community for voicing their concern and love for the stand to county officials.

“They really changed their mind in the beginning of the year,” Rodin said of officials allotting her business more space, as well as extending her permits. “I think because people in the community called and called and called. That really helped, I think.”

Her bright smile tells the tale.

“The community responded,” Rodin explained. “It’s amazing; I couldn’t believe it.”

And while it’s important for Rodin that the community and her customers know they are open for business as usual, she is also still passionate about the farming lifestyle which she has known her whole life. The farming veteran emphasized that while she is thrilled to remain open through the holidays, she can’t help but feel for the other families who had to vacate and leave what they’ve known through acquisition by eminent domain.

“We don’t want to sell. We want to keep a working farm,” she shared. “We got eminent domain; it’s two different things. It’s one thing if you want to sell your property. You’re done and you want to sell it, but when they come in and just take it, that’s another thing.”

Rodin, her four sons and her father are immersed in the farming and fruit stand operation.

“It’s our life. It’s what we know and what we love,” Rodin said. “I’m so relieved.”

She added that though the last year “was rough emotionally on me,” she is happy to still come to work.

“That’s all I knew how to do. I raised four kids by myself. They were raised out there,” the single mom explained of the farm environment. “I was able to take my kids to work with me. How lucky was that? That’s huge. They didn’t have to go to day care, they were with family all the time. I mean what more could I ask for in life. Yeah, it was a lot of work, but they have memories too of being raised out there. That’s like a dream.”

As the bypass construction continues in the new year, there will be impacts to business. Rodin acknowledges there will be inconveniences, but for now, for the harvest and holiday seasons on the horizon, what matters most to her is that her community and customers know the business is open and in full force.

“A lot of people think we’re closed,” she said. “I try to post on Facebook to tell people we’re open. They think we’re closing, but we’re not. We’re going to be able to stay, that’s the main thing.”

Now, as Rodin shifts gears from summer peaches and prepares for hay bales and pumpkin varieties, her excitement is contagious.

“Last year at this time, I really thought this was it. I was emotional. A mess the whole summer last year,” she shared. “This is all I knew. Over thirty-something years of my life, that’s all I knew was that corner.”

And now as the excitement of another season uninterrupted kicks in, Rodin said, “I’m so excited. I finalized all my Christmas orders … Ship ‘em. Ship ‘em!”

Rodin Farms Fruit Stand is at 5000 Oakdale Road, Modesto. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

For additional information, check their social media pages or call 209-551-6701.