Aiden Reuther of Warrenville may be only 13 years old, but he already seems to have a pretty sophisticated palate.
“I can tell the difference with food here at a farmers market. It’s pretty fun to go to the market and have some fresh veggies to go home and cook with,” Aiden said while shopping with his mother Tiffany at the new Wednesday evening version of Batavia’s weekly farmers market.
“It’s a good idea to have fresh food,” he said. “I can taste the freshness of things. At the grocery store, sometimes things are chewier, I’d say.”
The Saturday Batavia Farmers Market, which opened for the summer season last month, launched its new scaled-down Wednesday night version beginning at 5 p.m. last Wednesday.
The market, on North River Street between Wilson and State streets, will run from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 28.
The new midweek market was organized by the Batavia MainStreet group, which was looking to give shoppers another option for those busy on the weekends or looking to shop in a more casual environment.
The market on Wednesday featured about 20 vendors, a number that officials said is less than half of the vendors at the larger Saturday market but still big enough to cover a full complement of shopping options.
In a press release, the MainStreet group noted that vendors would include “homemade baked goods from 2023 Batavia Boardwalk Shops alumnus Gather Bakery, Blue Stand Cookie Co., Torte di Paola and Great Baked Pies” as well as locally-grown produce.
The release adds that “Batavia favorites Flat Tire Farms, Garlic Breath Farm, Mighty Greens Farm, Red Flower Organics and Fae Forest Fungi” are also offering products at the Wednesday market, as well as a “charcuterie person where you can just pick up something and go.”
Batavia MainStreet Executive Director Beth Walker said the idea behind the market was to offer shoppers another option as well as hopefully attracting more foot traffic to downtown Batavia.
“People have told us they are happy about the (Wednesday) option because some are not early morning people and don’t want to get going that fast on a Saturday or they’re at work,” she said. “This is an option to get out and get people moving around town. The Boardwalk Shops will be open and there are a lot of businesses open as well. We just want people to come and visit the downtown.”
Walker acknowledged that while there are midweek markets in other places in the Fox Valley, “we just looked to see if there were a lot of markets happening and thought, you know, we think that our community will like it, and we’re just going to give it a go.”
“If it doesn’t work this year, we’ll re-evaluate, but we know these things take a while to get going and get a loyal following,” she said. “We have some new vendors that are coming in along with some of our regulars that people love. I think we have a good group.”
Tiffany Reuther was all-in about the market option and said she shops at the Saturday Batavia farmers market as well.
“The thing I like about this is that if you run out of something you can replenish things midweek,” she said of the new Wednesday market. “This is a nice midweek break. It also prevents making you buy as much on Saturday because you’re trying to make things last. And sometimes it’s hard to come out on Saturdays with kids’ sports and all that.”
Beth Clark of Geneva also visited the first-time market last Wednesday and said for her the new offering is a win-win as she works at a salon in the same area as the market. She agreed with Walker that the market should also foster more foot traffic in the area.
“This is great as I work right here and hopefully this will draw more people here,” Clark said. “I love that they use the local vendors here too from the area. Overall, I think the selection is good. I’m very happy.”
Nancy Kuntzi of North Aurora was visiting the market with her grandkids on Wednesday and hopes “people come down and support the community.”
“Some people are too busy on Saturdays to make it in the morning, so this is an alternative for them to come down and see what they have and maybe eat at a restaurant and support the community,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
