Organizers of a new open-air market say they won't let problems with vendors derail their vision.
By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published February 18, 2005
BRANDON - Organizers of a fledgling Saturday fresh market on Parsons Avenue and Mason Street are less than thrilled with the turnout.
The turnout of vendors, that is.
After postponing the market for two weeks during the holiday season, organizer and shopkeeper Olga Santamaria said she was one of only a handful of vendors who showed up to sell warm bread and herbs the Saturday after New Year's.
"Can you imagine a farmer's market without any produce vendors?" she said. Truth be told, the idea to bring an open-air market to Brandon hasn't quite gotten off the ground yet. The group has had trouble getting word out about the market to bring in more vendors and customers.
But Santamaria said she is not giving up on a dream she has had for years. She said she believes the market can help give small entrepreneurs a leg up in business.
As a young girl in Colombia, Santamaria said, she always enjoyed walking to the open-air markets and perusing the different vendor stands for fresh fruits and sweets. When she moved to Brandon, she was surprised that an old-fashioned farmer's market was nowhere to be found, she said.
After she opened Flowers and Baskets to Give at 301 S Parsons Ave., Santamaria said she began having serious thoughts about a Saturday market.
She called her landlord, Jim Adams, who agreed to help organize the market on a vacant lot beneath the shade of a giant oak tree. They agreed to charge vendors a $10 set-up fee. Money raised will be used to publicize the market, which opened on Dec. 4. They soon discovered that pulling in customers was easier than getting enough vendors to show up every Saturday.
"It wasn't that we were making that much money from them," Santamaria said. "It's just that a lot of the vendors got impatient when they didn't sell everything in one Saturday."
Since then, plans to feature live entertainment as part of the market have been shelved indefinitely.
Adams said making sure vendors who sell perishable goods are licensed has been troublesome because there is constant turnover.
On Jan. 8, after a two-week hiatus, the market reopened but only Santamaria, the kettle corn vendor and a woman who sells vases and crosses showed up, Santamaria said.
Santamaria said she remains undaunted.
She said she will continue to sell her bread, herbs and flower arrangements outside her store each Saturday. She will pull out some tables and welcome any other vendors who wish to set up shop.
"The idea of a fresh market is a divine one," she said. "I know it can work so I'm not ready to give up just yet."
