Parkesdale Market

Parkesdale Market has been synonymous with Plant City strawberries since 1968, and the family-owned roadside stand on West Baker Street remains one of the clearest expressions of why this city calls itself the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World. What started as a modest fruit stand has grown into a destination that draws visitors from across Florida and beyond, all chasing the same reputation: a strawberry shortcake built the old way, with fresh-picked local berries piled onto a split biscuit or shortcake base and finished with real whipped cream.

The shortcake is the anchor of the menu, but it is far from the only reason to stop. During the winter and spring strawberry season, which typically runs from December through April, Parkesdale sells flats and quarts of berries picked from area fields, often the same day. The market also carries a rotating selection of Florida-grown produce as the seasons change, along with jams, preserves, and gift baskets that the business ships nationwide for customers who cannot make the trip to Baker Street in person. A small plant nursery and gift shop round out the property, so a visit can turn into a longer stop than the shortcake alone would suggest.

Parkesdale’s hours shift with the growing calendar. From December through March, during the height of strawberry season, the market is open seven days a week from 9am to 6pm. From April through November it scales back to a Wednesday through Sunday schedule, still 9am to 6pm, and the business typically closes for a summer break in early July through early August when the Florida heat and the off-season align. Because the schedule moves with the crops, calling ahead before a special trip is a reasonable idea, especially outside the core winter months.

What sets Parkesdale apart from the strawberry-branded souvenir shops that pop up along Florida highways is that it is rooted in the actual agricultural economy of Hillsborough County. Plant City sits at the center of Florida’s winter strawberry industry, and markets like Parkesdale exist because the fields around town produce fruit that needs a retail outlet close to the source. The business has stayed under family ownership for decades, and that continuity shows in a stand that has resisted becoming a generic tourist stop even as its reputation has spread well past Plant City.

For visitors timing a trip around the Florida Strawberry Festival, held each winter not far from the market, Parkesdale is often treated as a required stop before or after the fairgrounds. Locals treat it more casually, as a place to grab a quart of berries on the way home or to bring out-of-town guests for a shortcake that has become something of a local institution. Either way, the market’s combination of farm-direct produce, a signature dessert, and a shipping operation that carries Plant City strawberries to kitchens across the country has kept it central to how the city presents itself to visitors.