New market will be berry particular

A produce-centric farmers market is sprouting in Lakewood Ranch.

Organizers expect the market to launch the evening of Dec. 7 in coordination with Lakewood Ranch Main Street’s monthly car show.

“We’re excited to bring this to the community,” said Mike Driscoll, president of  the Lakewood Ranch Main Street Merchant Association.

Main Street had hosted Jen’s MarketPlace farmers market, which had a once-a-month Saturday morning presence on Main Street for about a year, ending September 2015. A contract with the market organizer was not renewed. Main Street property manager Amanda Zipperer cited scheduling conflicts and a need for a different mix of vendors.

The new farmers market will be more genuine, offering only fresh fruits and vegetables and unique foods, such as honey, jams and jellies.

“Our mission is to keep this a true farmers market that offers fresh products to the community,” Zipperer said.

Driscoll, co-owner of The Fish Hole Miniature Golf, said Main Street merchants began revisiting the idea of a farmers market at the plaza in August. While Driscoll was at his business preparing for a meeting, Tod Durkin came through the door and asked for information about Lakewood Ranch’s past markets.

“It seemed like an opportunity to try to bring back the Lakewood Ranch farmers market,” said Durkin of why he had stopped in the area. “This is where the farms are. You can make the argument this is where a market should be.”

Durkin recently completed an economic impact study for the Sarasota Farmers Market, a 37-year tradition with 5,000 square feet of produce and plant offerings. It is ranked in the top 5% of more than 8,500 farmers markets nationally.

For the study, Durkin interviewed 900 marketgoers about their spending patterns and other details.

The results are what make Lakewood Ranch Main Street merchants hopeful: 75 % of patrons said they visited stores adjacent to the market and had an average per visitor spending of $37.26 at those stores.

Durkin said those statistics are high compared with national ones, but they show the benefit of farmers markets on the local economy. 

He does not expect to see such high spending in Lakewood Ranch. The plaza’s size and structure are much smaller than the more than five city blocks covered at Sarasota’s event. But he and Driscoll hope it will thrive each Wednesday evening through April.

“What we found in Sarasota is that there is a big benefit to downtown merchants,” Durkin said. “Hopefully, we can bring that here.

“We have a dozen interested vendors,” he said, noting that one larger produce vendor will anchor the market to ensure there’s a good variety of produce. “We’re starting small to make sure we have the right vendors and logistics, and the vendors are successful. We’ll see what the community supports.”

The area is ripe with markets — 11 in Sarasota County and another three in Bradenton — but Durkin does not see any problems with competition because of the timing. He has spoken with vendors at the Wednesday morning Philippi Creek market and many of them say it will be convenient to repack the same day and head to Lakewood Ranch with their goods. The day and time also does not pit Lakewood Ranch’s market against Sarasota’s more established one as it did previously.

Driscoll said the idea is to enhance community offerings, while supporting Main Street merchants. He hopes the event will become an “outing” for families or a mid-week pick-up stop for fresh groceries before heading home.

“We put on 59 events last year, done through the landlord and the merchants,” Driscoll said. “We all own our own businesses. It’s important for us to feel we are supporting the community and it’s also important for the community to support us.”

For information about the market or to become a vendor, contact [email protected].

GRAPHIC:

Finding farms (LOCATOR MAP: Use 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch as the starting point)

There are a handful of organic and local farms within a 10-mile radius of Lakewood Ranch Main Street and more than dozen if you add beef, honey and other producers to the mix within a 15-mile radius. Here is a sampling:

Jessica’s Organic Farm, 4180 47th Street, Sarasota (5.2 miles)

Sweetgrass Farms, 8350 Carolina Street, Sarasota  (6.5 miles)

Fruitville Grove, 7410 Fruitville Road, Sarasota (6.9 miles)

O’Brien Family Farms, 16505 State Road 64 E., Bradenton (9.4 miles)

Seneca Farms, 10507 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota (10.3 miles)

STORY

A produce-centric farmers market is sprouting in Lakewood Ranch.

Organizers expect the market to launch the evening of Dec. 7 in coordination with Lakewood Ranch Main Street’s monthly car show. 

“We’re excited to bring this to the community,” said Mike Driscoll, the Lakewood Ranch Main Street Merchant Association president. 

Main Street had hosted Jen’s MarketPlace farmers market, which had a once-a-month Saturday morning presence on Main Street for about a year, ending September 2015. A contract with the market organizer was not renewed. Main Street property manager Amanda Zipperer cited scheduling conflicts and a need for a different mix of vendors.

The new farmers market will be more genuine, offering only fresh fruits and vegetables and unique foods, such as honey, jams and jellies.

“Our mission is to keep this a true farmers market that offers fresh products to the community,” Zipperer said.

Driscoll, co-owner of The Fish Hole Miniature Golf, said Main Street merchants began revisiting the idea of a famers market at the plaza in August. While Driscoll was at his business, preparing for a meeting,Tod Durkin came through the door and asked for information about Lakewood Ranch’s past markets.

“It seemed like an opportunity to try to bring back the Lakewood Ranch farmers market,” said Durkin of why he had stopped in the area. “This is where the farms are. You can make the argument this is where a market should be.”

Durkin recently completed an economic impact study for the Sarasota Farmers Market, a 37-year tradition with 5,000 square feet of produce and plant offerings. It is ranked in the top 5% of more than 8,500 farmers markets nationally.

For the study, Durkin interviewed 900 market-goers about their spending patterns and other details.

The results are what make Lakewood Ranch Main Street merchants hopeful. Seventy-five percent of patrons said they visited stores adjacent to the market and had an average per visitor spending of $37.26 at those stores.

Durkin said those statistics are high compared with national ones, but they show the benefit of farmers markets on the local economy. He does not expect to see such high spending in Lakewood Ranch. The plaza’s size and structure are much smaller in scope than the more than five city blocks covered at Sarasota’s event. But he and Driscoll hope it will thrive each Wednesday evening through April.

“What we found in Sarasota is that there is a big benefit to downtown merchants,” Durkin said. “Hopefully, we can bring that here.

“We have  a dozen interested vendors,” he said, noting that one larger produce vendor will anchor the market to ensure there’s a good variety of produce. “We’re starting small to make sure we have the right vendors and logistics and the vendors are successful. We’ll see what the community supports.”

The area is ripe with markets  — 11 in Sarasota County and another three in Bradenton — but Durkin does not foresee any problems with competition because of the timing. He has spoken with vendors at the Wednesday morning Philippi Creek market and many of them say it will be convenient to repack the same day and head to Lakewood Ranch with their goods. The day and time also does not pit Lakewood Ranch’s market against Sarasota’s more established one as it did previously.

Driscoll said the idea is to enhance community offerings, while supporting Main Street merchants. He hopes the event will become an “outing” for families or a mid-week pick-up stop for fresh groceries before heading home.

“We put on 59 events last year, done through the landlord and the merchants,” Driscoll said. “We all own our own businesses. It’s important for us to feel we are supporting the community and it’s also important for the community to support us.”

For information about the market or to become a vendor, contact [email protected].