The North Park Farmers Market started up again a few weeks ago, this time behind the CVS (formerly Sav-On) at North Park Way and 32nd St. That’s good news for those of us who’d grown tired of cramming into the Sunday market at the DMV in Hillcrest!
It took this long (has it been two years?) to find a new location for the market once the new parking garage sprawled over the old space. Thank Liz Studebaker at North Park Main Street for negotiating the deal with CVS.
North Park’s market is every Thursday from 3 p.m. - sunset. In the fall and winter the hours will be 2 p.m. - dark. Parking is readily available in the large CVS lot and on streets nearby.
The other thing Liz did was hire the guy who runs the Hillcrest market, so there is a quality assurance to the effort. I don’t know his name but I was at the market today and heard him talking to a potential vendor. He said they have a waiting list for spaces already.
I found this disappointing. One, if spaces are contracted, which I assume they are, that means the same vendors will be there every week. Why not let some vendors rotate in and out? And two, there are only about 30 vendors. I’d like to see more.
But the good news is the vendors who are there are excellent and varied. I picked up some organic pluots and peaches ($2/lb), two ears of corn (2/$1), a couple of handfuls of green beans ($2) and two large bunches of flowers (2/$10). I saw excellent tomatoes and zucchini, eggs, homemade granola, fish, kettle corn and spiced nuts. There was also hot food available, including Thai, gyros and organic coffee (ugh–on a hot August day?).
On the non-food side, there was a massage therapist providing service on the spot, a rep from FlexCar and some hippy clothes. No cell phone dealers, thank God.
Everyone seemed happy to be shopping outside on a nice sunny afternoon. Most were buyers, not browsers. The vendors appeared genuinely pleased to be there too.
Why do farmers markets appeal to us, I wondered as I wandered. I think it’s because we like to think we are buying fresh products direct from people who can really use the business. Whether it’s true or not, as long as everyone enjoys it and goes away with a good feeling, who cares if it’s really a fact? I just know my pluots from the farmers market taste a little better than the ones I get at Vons! Or at least I think they do…
