The committee in charge of the Chicago Ridge farmers market has approved a major change in the market for its second year and an earlier starting time.
John Mrozek, executive director of the committee, said it went along with suggestions from village Clerk George Schleyer, who felt the farmers market needed some tweaking to become more successful, focusing on produce rather than a variety of products.
He said the market this summer will offer honey sold by beekeeper John Bailey, who has a small farm in Altorf near Kankakee. The other vendor, which will specialize in fresh produce, has not been determined. Last year, Zeldenrust Farm Market, from Chicago Heights, filled that role, and owner Ruth Zeldenrust has said she is interested in returning.
The market wants a vendor that will be able to offer fresh produce from the start, Schleyer said, but Bailey said that might be difficult in early June “when all you have is strawberries and asparagus.” That means whichever vendor is selected will sell produce grown in hothouses or bought elsewhere, Bailey said.
Market organizers indicated that they’re OK with that in the early going.
Last year, the farmers market ran from 2 to 7 p.m. every other Monday. This year, it will be open each Monday, either from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 7 a.m. to noon. Being open weekly is a smart way to build a loyal customer base, Bailey said.
“We want to try something different because the numbers never really showed up in the afternoon (last year),” he said. “So we’ll give mornings a shot. Most of the markets on the South Side are in the morning, but nobody has a Monday morning.”
“I think we were overly ambitious last year, Mrozek said. “But there’s nothing wrong with scaling back. Like any business, you have to change. The people will dictate what they want.”
While Bailey thinks “bigger would be better” for the market, he said, “what’s nice about that market is the people who showed up actually bought. At a lot of markets, people look but don’t buy.”
