The Westfield Farmers Market is seeing no shortage of vendors and visitors each week with food, music and plenty of other options to choose from.
The market, which is open from 5 to 8 p.m. every Thursday at Grand Junction Plaza, is the biggest ever, said Nick Stepaniak, market manager. On a typical week, the market has 70 vendors offering products ranging from baked goods, honey, dog treats, soap and a variety of produce, Stepaniak said.
“We have seen continued success from our winter market with a lot of vendors carrying over to the summer farmers market,” Stepaniak said. “This has been the most successful year since I’ve been here in 2021.”
Stepaniak cited the presence of being in Grand Junction Plaza as being one of the key factors in the market’s success, noting that officials have tried to make it a destination for families to enjoy with different food trucks and vendors to choose from. Many other farmers markets in Hamilton County – such as those found in Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and Sheridan – host theirs on Saturdays, but Westfield has enjoyed success by holding its market on Thursdays each week, Stepaniak said.
“We’ve taken a Thursday night and ran with it,” he said.
The Westfield Farmers Market recently saw no shortage of activity as members of the public waited to get their hands on sweet corn offered by Tipton-based business My Dad’s Sweet Corn for the first time this season. That was evident by the long lines as employees such as Tim Mendenhall kept busy selling bushels of sweet corn that arrived on the back of a pickup truck.
Mendenhall, who said the business has been at the Westfield Farmers Market for more than five years, estimated he brought 100 to 150 dozen bushels of corn and predicted that it would sell out at the end of the night.
“We’ve got a pretty good following now and we’ve been in other places for up to 20 years and the following keeps getting bigger every year,” Mendenhall said.
Among the visitors attending the farmers market was Linda Keen, who came with her husband, Mark, and their dog, Honey. They were among the dozens of people who bought sweet corn and were browsing different vendors afterwards.
Linda Keen said one of the main reasons she visits the farmers market is because of the people.
“We can walk here from our house if it’s not too hot and I can bring my dog Honey and walk her and we can walk around and talk to everyone,” she said. “There’s lots of room to move around and I can bring my dog.”
Among the stops for Linda Keen and Honey was Lazy Labs Bakery, which sells dog treats made with organic ingredients. The Fishers-based business owned by Katie Mack was at the winter farmers market held at West Fork Whiskey Co.
Mack said she decided to be a part of the Westfield Farmers Market at Grand Junction Plaza in part because of the success she had during the winter months.
“We have built up a clientele from the winter and they come weekly and buy treats from us and we now have fan-favorite customers that need their two bags of treats each week,” Mack said.
Mack said she was surprised at how well her business did indoors at the winter farmers market, adding that “we’ve been doing great ever since.”
The winter farmers market, which was relaunched this year after a hiatus due to the pandemic, is likely to return to West Fork Whiskey Co., Stepaniak said.
“We brought it back and saw plenty of success and had every spot filled and had plenty of attendees,” Stepaniak said. “We’re always looking to continue to grow and our application stays open all summer, so we’d like to grow even more.”
Stepaniak also encouraged the public to come check out the Westfield Farmers Market, noting there is plenty for children and adults to enjoy.
“Just come out on Thursday nights, it’s a great time,” he said. “We have live music, so make your Thursday night an exciting evening.”
If you go
What: Westfield Farmers Market
When: 5 to 8 p.m. every Thursday through Oct. 5
Where: Grand Junction Plaza, 225 S. Union St.
More information: Visit downtownwestfieldindy.com/farmers-market-1
