Main Street Market
A collection of tents and umbrellas transform a Southside parking lot into a famer’s market.Any other day, it’s just an empty parking lot. But each Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m., the usually barren piece of real estate – located in Chattanooga’s Southside – is transformed into the Main Street Farmer’s Market.
The weekly event is both homegrown and local, much like the produce each farmer sells. And what began as a CSA pickup – a system where customers pre-pay for the entire season or year and receive weekly distributions – has flourished into something much more.
“It’s by far the strongest farmer’s market in the area as far as organic,” Kenny Burnap, sous chef for St. John’s Restaurant down the street. He’s braving nearly 100-degree heat in his black chef’s jacket to pick through one of the season’s first squash crops including the blossoms – a fragile and short-lived delicacy. “I buy a lot from these guys so it makes sense for me to pick up here,” he explains, despite his sweaty brow.
In fact the unseasonable heat hasn’t stifled the swells of the mid-week crowd, which at half past four has formed a line at Circle S Farm’s tent, hoping to catch another round of their strawberries.
Letty Smith, who owns the farm with husband Curtis, rushes to answer questions while simultaneously distributing weekly pickups from her CSA program, which currently has a wait list.