PEARL FARMERS MARKET

SAN ANTONIO'S PREMIER MARKET CONTINUES TO INNOVATE

WORDS BY KIMBERLY SUTA | PHOTOS BY PEARLS FARMERS MARKET

The Pearl Farmers Market is easily San Antonio’s premier market. Not only does the historic Pearl serve as the most stunning backdrop for the Saturday market (from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), but with more than 30 farmers and ranchers and a couple dozen more vendors featuring artisan products and ready-to-eat food, it’s simply hard to beat in terms of versatility. The options range from delectable yogurt from Mother Culture to mindfully-grown produce from Talking Tree permaculture farm, to local honey from Holdman Honey and so, so much more.

“It’s a great way to support your local farmers, ranchers and artisans and get to know them personally and learn about their businesses. It’s a whole event and a fun way to spend your day, shop for groceries, have some lunch. The options are endless,” shares Samantha Pappas, the market manager.

Practically since its inception, the Pearl Farmers Market has become an event unto itself with locals coming out for a “day date” or a place to bring the pups for a stroll while they browse and shop. It’s always a good place to spot rare breeds. It’s also family-friendly, with a water feature for the kids to play in and green space to pop-up a picnic and bask in the sun with all your newfound goodies.

When I visit, I like to start by grabbing a cup of coffee or cold brew from What’s Brewing. More often than not, I also order a gluten-free, veggie-packed crepe from Crepelandia, which has been at the market for as long as I can remember, and then I shop till I drop, so to speak.

“I think it’s had a huge impact on the community, as it provides accessible produce and groceries directly from the producer to the customer,” notes Pappas. “We also accept SNAP benefits at the market, so it provides access to these kinds of products for people who normally wouldn’t be able to buy them. You know, we’re kind of in a food desert.”

I’ve always considered it such a blessing to be able to buy directly from the farmers and ranchers, all of whom care so deeply about the food they produce for our community. Don’t hesitate to ask them questions, not only about their practices, but also how they would recommend using the products they sell. From my experience, most of them can offer tips on how best to eat or incorporate them into a dish.

Why is it so important to shop at farmers markets like the Pearl? Not only are you supporting small businesses, but you can practically guarantee that the quality of the food you will get at the market exceeds its grocery store counterpart. The level of freshness of the food, particularly produce, hugely impacts its viable nutrition. When you buy locally, you’re often getting produce that was picked that morning or the day before. It wasn’t transported thousands of miles before landing on your plate. The older fresh food is, the less nutrition it imparts. I learned this, too, from my local farmer friends.

One of the oldest farmers to grace the market is Braune Farms, which offers a wide variety of seasonal veggies. It’s also exciting to go to the market each week and see what’s in season. While the South Texas heat can be brutal on produce, one of the benefits is we typically have two growing seasons, which makes for more options throughout the year.

According to Pappas, Enchanted Acres, Labatt Farms and Clarke’s Greens are three of the newest farmers to pop up at the Pearl. Pingo de Mel, which offers Brazilian baked goods and bites and Momo House, which makes Nepalistyle dumplings, are two of the new ready-to-eat vendors, while Southern Roots Vegan Bakery and Ancient Heirloom Grains round out the new offerings from local craft foods producers. The latter two have been near and dear to my heart for years, and I’m beyond thrilled that they’re now easy to access every weekend.

If you’re like me and have been visiting this market for years, you know that the crowds have become somewhat excessive, but that should not deter you. Pappas made sure to let me know that you can park for free in the main parking lot under the freeway for up to 30 minutes for a quick grab and go. Additionally, you can enjoy two free hours of parking in the Kohler garage, but let’s keep that just between us.

In any case, the crowds are part of the experience and most of us are happily walking around with bright eyes and bushy tails — that is unless we have to wait too long for our morning cup of coffee!

Learn more, visit atpearl.com/weekend-market. The Pearl now also offers a Makers Market on Sundays for a chance to shop from local artists selling wares like ceramics, woodworks and leatherworks.

Saturdays 9 a.m. –1 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Plenty of parking

Dog friendly atpearl.com

Instagram: @historicpearl