Green Market on Green Street in Roswell

There's a new farmers market in town. The Green Market on Green Street in downtown Roswell is one of the newest markets in the Atlanta area but this past Thursday, market manager Kathy Mullen and the vendors looked like seasoned pros. The fact that the market is held on Thursday evenings makes it a great alternative to the grocery store.  It is located just off Green Street on the grounds of Swallow at the Hollow. Not only is it in a great location, easily accessible from all points of downtown Roswell, but the fact that it is located on Swallow at the Hollow property means you can grab a glass of wine as you peruse the goods.


Opening day was cheerfully busy and vendors from within a 100 mile radius of Roswell came out to peddle their produce, cheese, meats, bread, smoked trout and salmon, eggs, fudge, honey, knife sharpening skills, milk, yogurt... just to name a few. The market is hosting vendors and farmers that are organic or Certified Naturally Grown.  On select Thursdays when Alive after Five coincides with market days there will be specially themed events: 

May 20 - Strawberries Alive!

June 17 - Blues and Blueberries!

July 15 - HOT!HOT!HOT! - peppers and local microbreweries.

August 19 - Tuscany in Roswell - tomatoes, herbs, pasta and Pavarotti.

So if you're in the area, stop by on Thursdays from 5 to 8 PM at 1072 Green Street, Roswell, Georgia 30075.  The market will run through October 28, 2010.

Riverside Farmers Market

Today was opening day for the second season of the Riverside Farmers Market in Roswell, GA. I was really looking forward to grabbing some tender Spring vegetables for dinner tonight... but unfortunately the market had just about everything BUT produce. This was similar to last year's opening day where the main attractions were craft items and flowers. Maybe it is just too early for local farmers to have a good harvest to sell at the market? No, because I'm quite confident the in-town markets like the Peachtree Road Farmers Market and the Morningside Market have an abundance of fresh produce.

At the Riverside Market I noticed candles, jams/jellies, coffee, fresh flowers, pieces of pie, a master gardener stand to answer all your home gardening questions, even some live plants and bags of composted manure. I'm not going to discredit the quality or craftsmanship of these items, I'm sure they're wonderful, (OK maybe the composted manure didn't take much skill) but when I go to a farmers market I want produce and I want lots of it! As it was, the only real produce I saw were some flats of strawberries, and a girl selling some greens. I already have a small bag of strawberries and a opened bag of pre-washed, pre-cut greens in the crisper drawer left over from last week. I was pleased to see some fresh eggs and a Artisan Foods Bakery stand selling fresh breads but I had already made up my mind that I wasn't buying anything. I'll try back in a month or so and hopefully the market will have ramped up its selection of fresh, local produce.