08/10/2026
Mill Spring Monday: Thermal Ridge
Sometimes a business starts with a big plan.
And sometimes it starts with a little roadside stand, some eggs, and a mom looking for a hands-on way to teach her son.
Thermal Ridge opened its farm stand on Highway 108 in June 2024, just a few months before Hurricane Helene changed so much in our community. I had just moved to Mill Spring myself, and I remember watching this little stand grow — and apparently, so did everybody else.
I chatted with Leigh from Thermal Ridge last night and learned that the stand originally had a pretty simple purpose: sell their eggs and whatever else she and her son could gather, while giving him a real-world way to practice things like counting money and word problems.
Her son is homeschooled, and today he's part of the operation — helping stock the stand, place orders, wash eggs and, perhaps most importantly, choose the soda selection. According to his mom, he loves it.
Then Helene came.
Like so many stories around here, theirs has a before and an after. Leigh told me that while the hurricane was a tragedy, her son learned so much by being alongside his family as they helped their community. And somewhere along the way, that little farm stand became something much bigger than the original idea.
Today, Thermal Ridge is a beautiful roadside market stocked with fresh produce Leigh picks up weekly — tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, corn, potatoes, peaches and whatever looks good and is in season. You'll also find eggs and locally sourced items like Sourwood Mountain Honey, plus Thermal Ridge's own handmade goods, including soaps, salves and natural deodorant.
And Leigh doesn't just sell the produce — she shows you what to do with it.
One of my favorite recent posts was her step-by-step zucchini boats: hollowed-out zucchini filled with seasoned meat, fresh corn, peppers and onions, Alfredo sauce and cheese. It's exactly the kind of practical, "here's what you can make with what we've got" content that makes a local farm stand feel like part of your kitchen rather than just somewhere you shop.
Thermal Ridge has also started popping up at Stone Soup, something Leigh initially thought would be a one-time thing. Stone Soup was so welcoming that she plans to keep going as often as she can. She's also at Henderson Curb Market.
And she's already thinking ahead: if she can get Indian peaches from Hyder, she wants to make Dark Corner Jam and have a special day selling it at the end of the drive. After that, she'll slowly transition back into sourdough as the season changes.
That's what I love about businesses like Thermal Ridge. It isn't just a farm stand.
It's a homeschool lesson.
It's a family project.
It's a place to grab tonight's tomatoes.
It's a way to support other local growers and makers.
And after Helene, it became one more place where a family found a way to serve the community around them.
A year later, that little stand is still there on Highway 108 — only now, a whole lot more people know to stop.
📍 Thermal Ridge — Highway 108, Columbus
🥕 Fresh produce, eggs & seasonal goods
🍯 Local honey & locally sourced products
🧼 Handmade soaps, salves & natural deodorant
🥖 Sourdough returning as the season changes
🛍️ Also find them at Henderson Curb Market and select Saturdays at Stone Soup
Follow Thermal Ridge on Facebook
Mill Spring Monday — where I spotlight the businesses, people and little places making this community what it is.
And this week's assignment is apparently zucchini boats. 😋
Know a Mill Spring business I should feature next? Drop it in the comments
