The Perrysburg Farmers Market, which draws thousands downtown every Thursday, has grown from a tiny seed planted 25 years ago to a big blooming bouquet of farmers, food, and friends.
Cindy Bench, co-owner of Bench Farms in Curtice, Ohio, has been with the market since its meek beginnings. She recalled husband Dave trying to entice customers to come over and see the flowers and produce at their booth when it opened in 1999 on Louisiana Avenue.
“He would boil sweet corn on a burner and hand it out for free, trying to get people,” Mrs. Bench said.
“When we first started here, we begged for somebody to walk by,” she recalled. “It took about six, seven years for it to develop into something. And now we’re the premiere market.”
Mrs. Bench, a Perrysburg native, said “big Dave’s sweet corn” is one of the biggest draws to their booth, along with melons and geraniums.
A ribbon cutting was held this week to recognize 25 years of the Perrysburg Farmers Market.
Councilman Mark Weber, who is serving as volunteer interim director of Visit Perrysburg, led the festivities in the 200 block of Louisiana Avenue.
He said the market started in 1999 with six vendors.
Today, the market has 60 vendors; 15 of them are farmers, which is six more than participated last year.
“It’s just amazing what it’s come to today,” Mr. Weber said. “It just brings our community together.”
The event has expanded almost every year. In addition to the market, 20 food trucks line the railroad tracks that intersect downtown, sending smells of chicken, falafel, lobster, and barbecue wafting along Louisiana.
The VanHoutte family has been a part of the market since the beginning, selling blooms from their 40-acre GardenView Flowers in Grand Rapids, Ohio.
Ellie VanHoutte said she and her sister, Jenny, grew up at the market, helping parents Jerry and Berryl set up, sell, and tear down every Thursday in the summer.
They regularly bring 90 buckets of peonies, dahlias, zinnias, and sunflowers — and sell out 80 percent of the time, Ms. VanHoutte said.
She credited that Perrysburg customer base for growing their flower business into wedding designs and a “you-pick” farm in the summer.
Andrew Chamberlain was getting a taste of that support. This was just his second week at the market, selling spinach, radishes, and eggs from his Shofar Farms in Lima, Ohio. The market’s reputation led him to Perrysburg.
“From the data I looked through, this is the largest farmers market in Ohio,” Mr. Chamberlain said.
“The people have been amazing,” he said. “I would say a lot of educated people as well. They understand the products that they’re looking for. ... It’s a different culture.”
Jennifer Roeger knows a thing about the culture difference. The Germany native has been in Perrysburg for one year. Her kids have been clamoring to go the market, she said.
“We love the vibe and the tribe,” Ms. Roeger said. “We have a lot of markets in Germany, but they are not so nice. The music, the food trucks [in Perrysburg] — it’s so American. We love it.”
The Roeger siblings, Emilia, 8, and her brother, Phil, 6, were promised peach and pink lemonade shaved ice.
Trace and Alayna Grainger come from Toledo at least once a season to the market. The couple said they usually seek out Country Grains for a bread buy.
“They always have something new every year that we try,” said Mr. Grainger, who was sipping a Maddie & Bella’s coffee while Mrs. Grainger munched on a bread sample.
Tylor Noel, with the Sylvania-based Country Grains, said they were one of the first vendors at the Perrysburg market.
“I was actually in eighth grade when I did my first market with my mom,” he said, recalling when the market was just a block long.
Their No. 1 bread seller is Sin-O-Man, Mr. Noel said. They regularly run out of 150 loaves every Thursday.
“It’s about a 10-hour bread. It’s all hand-chopped and kneaded. It’s got brown sugar, cinnamon, and real maple sugar on top,” he said.
Vicki Stouffer, the first convention and visitors bureau director, who introduced the farmers market idea to Perrysburg, was at Thursday’s celebration.
“I’m delighted that it’s still going on. Perrysburg has grown so much, and it’s nice to see the market growing along with it,” Ms. Stouffer said.
Mrs. Bench credited the customers for the market’s success.
“They’ve come in the pouring rain. They’ve come in the snow. They come on the sweltering hot days, and still they support us,” she said.
Mr. Weber said the market will remain uptown next summer as the Louisiana area undergoes a $4.7 million renovation.
“No matter what happens with construction, this market’s going to be right here,” he said, adding that it will be fluid and move around the work. “This is where it started, and this is where it’s always going to be.”
State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R., Perrysburg) read a state proclamation, and another was sent by U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio).
The Perrysburg Farmers Market runs every Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m. through Oct.10. Music at the Market starts June 6 at 7 p.m. in the Commodore Schoolyard at the corner of Louisiana and Indiana Avenue and runs through the end of August.
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