It’s a fitting location for many local businesses who have set up roots in town.
Each Thursday, Rice Road Greenhouses begun offering residents a chance to continue their market experience.
Jerry Moes, owner of Rice Road Greenhouses, saw the vacancy around the holidays and decided to roll with it.
“We’re always looking for new ideas at the greenhouse and when we saw that the summer market was ending in October, we jumped at the chance to keep local farmers and businesses running deep into winter.”
It paid off.
Vendors quickly lined up for Thursday afternoon spots, which carries some familiar names, and also some new ones.
Pelham Farmers Market regulars such as Nature’s Corner and Churchhill Natural Meats made the transition, while jewelry maker Dale Friesen jumped over after spending the summer at the St. Catharines Market.
“I was a decorator before and decided to make these crystals since they were becoming so popular in Canada,” Friesen said. “When you start a small business like this independently, it’s not always easy to sell your creations, so events like these help out a lot.”
She says the first week here, many customers were curious to see who was here at the market. But now, they’ve been getting a steady stream of people looking to purchase food and gifts.
“People are telling their friends and it’s definitely increasing the foot traffic here.”
Moes says the response has been nothing but positive from both customers and vendors.
“Everyone is excited about this so we’ll see how it goes until Christmas before deciding on the markets future.”
The market will continue to run from 3-6 p.m. each Thursday until Dec. 18.
