Weekly event on city’s Avenue of Flags median getting good reviews as organizer fine-tunes hours for optimum effect
Those Buellton residents who have gone to nearby cities to get their picks of produce and food styles now has an option much closer to home.
The Buellton Farmers Market debuted on March 16, setting up shop on the Avenue of Flags median, taking over the parking lot south of Damassa Road and some of the lawn area south of the lot.
A visit to the market on March 23, its second week saw about 20 spots with people selling their wares, while a bounce house and mechanical bull was being set up for entertainment.
While some farmers markets, like the one in Solvang, limit vendors to those selling food and produce, the Buellton one is a little more flexible. Goodland Seafood, who operates out of Santa Barbara and is owned by Santa Ynez Valley local Matt Liso, had a booth offering up its crabs and lobster
“I think this is a good opportunity and its working out for us so far,” Liso said at the March 23 market. “I’ve been doing this since 2017 and have been looking for a way to sell up here, it’s been going well so far.”
Meanwhile, Rachel Alocer and Dawn Whirty, both of whom live in the Lompoc area, shared a booth, each selling their unique items.
Alocer has a line of homemade jams and jellies that she’s been able to sell online and through social media, and the new farmers market gives her another way to reach customers.
“It really helps, I have my own kitchen in Mission Hills, but no store to put it in, so this is the place I can sell it,” said Alocer, who named her pepper jelly as one of her most popular product.
Whirty, who lives in Vandenberg Village, sells her line of freeze-dried candy out of her arts and crafts gift shop in the Village, and uses the Buellton market as another platform.
“I started after I saw freeze-dried fruit being sold, and I joked to my husband that I could do that with candy,” she said. “Then, I thought it wasn’t such a bad idea, and I purchased a freeze-drying machine, and went on from there. I’ve found my own fruit roll-ups and the freeze-dried Nerds are favorites with the kids.”
While shoppers and vendors were making transactions, Buellton Farmers Market organizer Brenda Browning was at her own booth ready to answer any questions or take suggestions.
“We’ve been getting pretty good reviews so far,” Browning said. “I think so far it’s been positive for the community, but I’m just keeping my eye out for things that can be approved — I’m still thinking about adjusting the hours [at the time 2 to 6 p.m.] to get more people coming back after work.”
A week or two later, Browning did decide to change the operating hours to 3 to 7 p.m. every Monday, where they stand now.
Browning is part of a family that runs farmers markets over multiple counties.
“My daughter runs farmers markets all around Southern California, like LA, Riverside, and Ventura,” she said. “Then I told her I wanted to do some myself and I thought there were locations here we were missing, so I got the ball rolling on Buellton.”
Browning was granted a Conditional Use Permit by the Buellton Planning Commission on Jan. 5. Then, in its regular Feb. 26 meeting, the Buellton City Council unanimously approved a license agreement that gave the green light to the weekly farmers market to be held every Monday on medians 2 and 3 on Avenue of Flags. The only traffic modification has been the closing of the cross street between the two medians during the farmers market; Avenue of Flags has remained open to traffic.
The city also charged Browning just $1 for the license fee, recognizing that Browning and her family would bear most of the expenses and do the planning and vendor management for the market. The city had long desired a farmers market on Avenue of Flags, but recognized that staffing and logistical challenges did not make it feasible for the city staff to operate the event themselves.
So, for now, Buellton residents have a place to get fresh food and other good stuff.
“I’m really happy to see they opened this,” said Buellton resident Jon Reyes, who came with his family. “This is good for the local farmers and good for those of us looking for fresh fruit.”
Remember, the Buellton Farmers Market runs every Monday, now from 3 to 7 p.m. at Median 3 on Avenue of Flags.
