ENGLEWOOD – In just one tourist season, the Englewood Farmers Market has gone from Thursday morning curiosity to Dearborn Street institution.
Each week, the downtown market draws a crowd.
Early birds pick the best produce. Morning strollers shop for cookies and cupcakes. Locals swing by for lunch.
Bonnie Saxman likes to bring her home-schooled daughters and the family dog.
“We came out the very first week,” she says. “Every week, there’d be a few more vendors. And we’d tell our friends. It was like, ‘Trust me, you’re going to rearrange your week around this.'”
Since November, the Englewood Farmers Market has offered fresh fruit and vegetables, along with a variety of breads and pastries. Specialty stands have everything from fresh pickles and guacamole to gourmet jams and popsicles. There are also orchids, bonsai and fruit trees for sale.
A blues guitarist plays near the big pine tree that marks the center of the 1-acre market.
The Thursday mix of people includes tourists with cameras, snowbirds with grandchildren and retirees with time to kill. Some neighbors arrive in SUV carpools. A lone cyclist rides off with a basket full of greens.
Jim and Kim Kulczyk of Buffalo, N.Y., picked up bagels and croissants on their first visit to the Englewood market.
“We were driving around, looking for garage sales, and we just passed by on Dearborn,” Jim says. “I was surprised to see so many people.”
At the peak of tourist season, several thousand people crowded into the Englewood market on Thursdays. Now that the season is winding down — the final market day is April 26 — it’s more like a steady stream of customers.