VENTNOR – Residents and visitors turned out in droves for the opening of the ninth annual Ventnor City Farmers Market, being held 8:30 a.m. to noon Fridays until Labor Day.
With the departure of John Dowd, who has moved with his wife Brenda to the left coast, Karen Warner of Ventnor has taken over as market manager, along with Maria Gatta of The Red Room Café.
“We have 80 vendors this year,” Warner said. “I was just doing volunteer support but now I am helping with the vendors.”
Warner said she received many calls from vendors hoping to sell their products at the weekly market, which was recently named one of the best farmers markets in the state.
“We had to turn so many of them away,” she said. “We wanted to focus more on food rather than crafts and now have four farmers selling produce.”
Eight vendors did not return for this summer, but they have 11 new vendors participating: Babcia’s Polish Kitchen, Carolina Artisan, Coastal Cocktails, Greene House Botanicals, Hale Hana, Ocean City Winery, Shore Baked, Stella’s Selections, That’s My Jam, Totes of the Town and Lost Bread Company.
The ladies at the Farmer’s Market information tent are selling long- and short-sleeved T-shirts, hoodies and hats, but the new canvas shopping bags seem to be a hit. It features a play on the American Gothic painting, only instead of on a farm the husband and wife are at the shore. Along with coffee mugs, there are two other bags available – the traditional teal market reusable bag and an insulated bag to keep food stuffs fresh while traveling.
Warner encouraged parents to stop by the information booth weekly to pick up a free giveaway for their children – today’s offering was little blow-up beach balls.
Former Ventnor First Lady, Kathy Styles-Landgraf pulled double duty, volunteering during the early morning shift to help vendors get to their proper spaces, and then took over at the NILAA Coffee Man stand serving up cold brew coffee and coffee beans by the pound.
Carmen Adamucci of Earth Products Essentials of Bridgeton attracted a lot of attention from the dog owners in the crowd.
“That’s my people magnet,” he said pointing to a life-sized stuffed yellow lab sitting in front of his tent.
“That dog brings the shoppers to me,” he said.
On the dog’s head was a little sticker that read: “I am dog.”
“A little girl in West Cape May put that sticker on his forehead two years ago and it’s been there ever since. The kids love it, and so do the dogs,” he said.
One of the new vendors was giving away samplings of his delicious wines, grown and produced locally. Mike Halpern and his wife Robin own Ocean City Winery, which is located in Upper Township. They have two vineyards where they grow their grapes – one in Fairfield Township that’s been there for 27 years, and the other in Upper near Beesley’s Point. Full bottles of Chardonnay, Rose, Cabernet Franc, along with Sweet Sunset, 5 Acre White and Backyard Red are undeniably delicious and were selling at a brisk pace at $20 per bottle.
“We’re looking forward to having a great summer here in Ventnor,” he said.
Mike Hauck of Tony Baloney’s fame was there selling his pizzas, balls of fresh mozzarella, and his newest creation “Mad Mutz” frozen mozzarella sticks, which were recently featured on an episode of “Shark Tank.” People were lined up six deep to say hello and congratulate him for getting a deal with Lori Greiner, “The Queen of QVC.” After tasting Hauck’s different Mad Mutz flavors, the shark took a bite and offered him the $150,000 he requested for a 20% stake in the company. The deal will allow Hauck to have his products in a display case in the freezer aisles of national supermarket chains.
A welcome feature at the market is the Old Coots Giving Advice tent located close to St. James Hall where several Ventnor senior citizens set up to dispense advice. There tagline is “It might not be the best advice, but it’s free.”
Two young women, both 23, who have been friends since childhood and now embarking on their own careers, stopped by to ask for the group’s best advice.
Old Coot Pat was eager to dispense her free advice: “Enjoy life and do what makes you happy,” she said.
“Oh, and if you have a grandmother who’s good at keeping your secrets, cherish her.”
The farmers market is located in the parking lot at St. James Church on the corner of Atlantic and Newport avenues.
The Ventnor City Farmers Market opened for its ninth season, Friday, May 23, 2025 in the parking lot at St. James Church.
Copyright Access Network 2025
