Mark Schnepf stands in the roadside shack where his family sold vegetables in the 1960s and shakes his head at the steady stream of vehicles on Rittenhouse Road.

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“This is now the main road to Johnson Ranch and all the development down there,” he says.

“Well, at least it’s bringing a lot more people to the farm.”

Schnepf Farms, a 300-acre parcel in Queen Creek, has been worked by three generations of the Schnepf family. As waves of new homes have washed away neighboring farms, Schnepf’s operation has evolved to survive.

The farm still grows vegetables — including broccoli, cauliflower, beets, corn, turnips and

sweet peas — and has Arizona’s largest peach orchard.

Since the early ’90s, however, Mark and his wife, Carrie, have supplemented the farm’s income by hosting seasonal festivals that draw as many as 18,000 people a day, as well as outdoor concerts, haunted houses, wedding receptions and educational tours.

Visitors will find a small railroad, an amusement park, a petting zoo, the state’s oldest still-running carousel, several historic buildings, a small museum and, most recently, the addition of a resident deer herd.

And next Friday, Nov. 23, the Schnepfs launch their latest attraction: A full-service restaurant called Fresh From the Farm, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Wednesdays through Sundays.

The restaurant takes over the historic vegetable stand, which had been used in recent years as a country store and bakery. Nate Brown, a banquet cook at The Phoenician resort, has been hired to oversee the kitchen.

The menu, which Carrie Schnepf describes as “good, old-fashioned home cooking,” includes family-recipe comfort foods such as meatloaf, chicken pot pie, biscuits and gravy and, of course, lots of fresh vegetables.

Prices haven’t been finalized, but the most expensive entrée will be less than $20, she says.

Inspiration for the restaurant came from the Schnepfs’ annual trips to the French countryside.

“We wanted to re-create some of that French country feel,” says Mark Schnepf. “Not with the cuisine, but with the décor.”

Rustic chairs and tables with bright country-motif tableclothes provide indoor seating for about 40 people. A small patio can hold another 30. Beyond that, there’s 300 acres for more outdoor tables if the demand is there.

“We’re already a seasonal venue,” he says. “We want to create reasons for people to come year-round.

“We want to create a special place.”

Fresh From the Farm

Where: 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek

Open: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday

Information: (480) 987-3100 or www.schnepffarms.com