Love the Market at Lakewood Ranch? Cast your vote

It's love at first whiff.

At least it is now.

When the Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch started in 2017 at the Sarasota Polo Club, it had the smell of a winner, but there was no concentrated, in-your-face, bakery-goodness aroma.

The booths were spread apart around the grounds, making it seem there were more vendors than there were. I would imagine that was by design as they worked with the concept. They had one produce stand, one. And your food choices were limited.

Of course, you have to start somewhere, and the whole idea, shepherded by then-Lakewood Ranch Community Relations Director Monaca Onstad, was to get the market started. The idea was a winner, and Lakewood Ranch Communities knew it would just be a matter of time, and place.

Flash forward to current day, and the changes are obvious.

Walk up to Waterside Place on a Sunday morning and breathe deeply.

Ahhhhhh!

Making the scent so interesting is that it is a mix of many delights. 

It's the fresh bagels, and the Philly cheesesteaks, the empanadas, and the potato knishes. Is that a Zaza cannoli? How about a Rock N Eggroll and a Wow Wow Lemonade?

The vendors, more than 100 and growing, have bought into the Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch, and the patrons are buying into them.

None of this would have went so well without the place, and Waterside Place — always the intended landing spot for the market — seems to be perfect. The market moved from the Sarasota Polo Club to the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center to Waterside Place in 2021.

On opening day in November 2021, more than 15,000 customers showed up, even though Waterside Place itself was lagging in terms of open businesses due to COVID-19 hangover and supply shortages. If Schroeder-Manatee Ranch wanted people to have a reason to see its new entertainment hub, the farmers market was the perfect reason.

Since that opening day, the market has averaged 8,000 to 10,000 visitors on Sundays over 12 months, and about 3,000 to 5,000 on Sundays during the summer. The market runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so a brief stroll through the heat is no big deal.

The market itself covers three legs of a street that runs along Kingfisher Lake. The 100 vendors are plugged into the space like Leggos, but it doesn't seem crammed and could better be described as an intimate setting. The bonus is the lakeside, where those who stroll the market can find a seat along the lake, and listen to the live music provided each Sunday.

The density leads to that wonderful smell as you approach, and makes it impossible to leave without tasting a little something.

Morgan Bettes-Angell, the market's manager, has been there from the start in 2017, and it's obvious she has a sense of pride when she talks about the current market and its future.

"We're known for our food variety," Bettes-Angell said. "We are known as a foodie market."

That makes sense. From Florida's Freshest Fish Company to Bite Me Cookies to Happy Pickle, to We Be Poppin' and on, and on. Have you tried Dynasty Guacamole? How can something so green taste so good?

Bettes-Angell and Nicole Hackel, the Lakewood Ranch Communities' Events and Resident Experience Manager, are about to get a good idea at how popular their market has become. The America's Farmers Market Celebration, hosted by American Farmland Trust, runs from June 19 through Sept. 19. People vote for their favorite farmers markets in the U.S. (one vote per email address).

If you would like to participate, go to votelwr.com. For more information on the market, go to themarketlwr.com.

The Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch finished fourth in Florida voting last year and was 42nd in the nation. Bettes-Angell and Hackel said they didn't find out about the competition last year until months into the voting and therefore couldn't promote it.

They are confident the market will finish higher this year, which is optimistic since their market is much smaller than many of the ones they face around the country.

"One challenge we have is that a lot of markets have a different growing season," Hackel said. "Our organic growers take a break (in the summer)."

Indeed, when the contest is running, many states are in their prime growing season. The Lakewood Ranch market certainly isn't at its peak during that time, so votes might be a little harder to come by.

The contest, however, is more of a fun thing than anything, one more reason to do a little bragging about the nation's No.1-selling, multi-generational, master-planned community. The Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch isn't likely to get a share of the contest's $15,000 purse, but the payoff has been the growing numbers in vendors and patrons.

 Bettes-Angell is confident those numbers will continue to climb. She said moving to Waterside Place with its seating along the lake, its pavilion, and its parks, has been a game-changer.

"It brings in more families, and they stay longer," she said.

Waterside Park still is being developed and a splash pad and playground are expected to be completed by the end of this year. The park sits on an 8-acre island that is attached to the hub by a walking bridge. Families are sure to use the park before, during and after they visit the Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch.

"Every market is unique," Bettes-Angell said, noting that farmers markets in other states often can be much larger than the one at Waterside. But bigger, she said, doesn't mean better. She said her market's variety, live music and programming, should count in the voting. She said the market also has formed a partnership with the nonprofit Transition Sarasota, which picks up leftover produce. Since Jan. 1, Transition Sarasota has picked up 3,245 pounds of produce, which has translated to 9,600 servings of food to those in need.

Add it all up, and she hopes those who visit often will take time to cast a vote.

After walking away with a knish and an empanada, I quickly cast mine.