Sellers find success at opening day of Butler farmers’ market
The temperature Saturday morning, May 24, may not have indicated that summer was approaching, but the crowd inside the Butler City Farmers’ Market building was a definite arbiter that warm weather is on its way. The market opened for the season at 8:30 a.m., drawing one of the best crowds for an opening day in years.
Donna Druga, of the Lyndora area, said she goes to the market pretty much every week during the summer, because the portions of the vegetables on sale are the perfect amount.
“You can buy a small amount of it and it doesn’t go bad before you eat it,” Druga said. “I pretty much come every week.”
The farmers market takes place every Saturday in a barn off Chestnut Street in Butler, where vendors from the Butler County area set up tables of their merchandise in front of garage doors to sell to spring shoppers.
Bob Dandoy, Butler mayor and manager of the farmers’ market, said the opening day had a full capacity of vendors, many of which signed on to be at the market until it closes in November. The market is comprised of many returning vendors — like the Sweet Gremlin and Pittsburgh Artisanal Soap Company — as well as some newcomers.
While the market is booked with vendors through the end of the season, Butler plans to renovate the building to add space to hold about 10 more vendors, as well as for general maintenance, which will take place throughout this selling season. However, there is not a wait list for vendors.
“Most of them are signed off for the year,” Dandoy said. “There’s a lot of familiar faces and new — we have dog treats, biscotti, coffee, the Greek food.”
In addition to the preparations made by the city for the market’s opening day and ensuing season, its regular vendors also put a lot of work in to ensure they have the stock necessary to please the crowd prowling the barn.
Matt McConnell, one of the owners of the Sweet Gremlin, said his wife and business partner, Jenn McConnell, spent all day Friday baking to prepare enough sweets for the market.
“The biggest thing is getting ready. She spends all day Friday baking,” Matt McConnell said. “It supplements our income and we get people to come to the shop in Petrolia.”
The market is also good for businesses like Sweet Gremlin to get noticed by a wider audience. Matt McConnell said people have traveled north from Butler to visit the shop after buying sweets at the weekly farmers’ market.
“Coming here has helped with our outreach,” he said. “They see us here and we’ve gotten orders for wedding catering and events. We have made connections.”
The connections made with the other vendors at the shop is also a benefit to the regular sellers at the market.
Isaac Porter, owner of Pond Hill Farm, said farmers’ markets are the bread and butter of his business. His table was filled with produce — mainly lettuces, radishes and other greens — which are in season right now. His stock rotates throughout the year, depending on what can be grown as the climate changes over the course of the summer, helping keep the selection fresh.
Porter also said the support for the market itself from the city and shoppers leads to consistency for the vendors. Pond Hill Farm is in Armstrong County, so as a seller at farmers markets across the region, Porter said municipal and community support is everything.
“The best part is the community built this building. It’s good for customers and for the vendors,” Porter said. “It’s really important to have that community support.”
The Butler City Farmers’ Market is open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each Saturday through October.
