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Enlighten Me: New Castle Farmers Market turns 60

[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/25123-enlightenfarmmkt.mp3|titles= Delaware Public Media's Tom Byrne interviews New Castle Farmers Market GM Greg Beecher.]

For 60 years, New Castle Farmers Market has been the place to go for pig’s feet and shoe repairs, haircuts and fashion wigs, kimchi and camaraderie.

On a recent Friday, Cheryl Ciance of Newark stopped by to buy lettuce and tomatoes at Lee’s Produce.

“Then I go to the pet shop because I love visiting the puppies,” she says.

Afterward, Ciance stuck around for an extra 45 minutes, standing in a long line for free flu shots.

“That would cost $30 at CVS,” she says. “It’s worth the wait.”

Throughout its history, New Castle has operated a flea market, in addition to its regular indoor market where vendors offer food, goods and services.

Increasingly, the market is a community services venue. Nursing students from Delaware Technical & Community College offer blood pressure screenings. Forgotten Cats places abandoned pets in new homes. Girl Scouts sell cookies.

“We think that working with nonprofits benefits our shoppers as well as the groups,” says Greg Beecher, the market’s general manager.

Meeting at the market

Open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the market also is a gathering place.

Alex’s Seafood and Clam Bar is an original tenant, where regulars get together for crawfish, seafood nachos and the restaurant’s signature crab fries. On this day, a frequent customer crossed the faded linoleum floor and headed to her favored perch, a booth in the back.

[caption id="attachment_69033" align="alignright" width="200"]https://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/alexs-fam-market.jpg Alex’s Seafood and Clam Bar has been a tenant at the New Castle Farmer's Market since it opened in 1954.[/caption]

“I already know what she is going to order: a flounder sandwich and Pepsi,” says Barbara Faber, a server and the sister-in-law of owner Sidney Smith.

For six decades, the Smith family has been renewing its lease with the market every 60 days—a total of 360 renewals.

“Some of the leases are yellow,” Beecher says. “They look like historic documents.”

Deborah Honeycutt and her husband Jack have been selling from the same booth for 23 years. They began retailing tools, then changed to NASCAR memorabilia.

“NASCAR isn’t doing as good, so we switched to all sports,” she says. “Eagles do good, Cowboys do good. Steelers aren’t doing to well so they aren’t selling so good.”

Joshua Swirksi has been selling and repairing jewelry and watches at the Fashion Link for 28 years. In the early days, he catered to mostly white suburban customers. Today, his client base is largely Hispanic.

“They bring the baby girls here for their first gold earrings—and keep coming back,” he says.

One thing hasn’t changed. When he opened in 1986, Swirski charged $4 to change a watch battery. In 2014, the rate remains at $4.

Shopping trends

Newer tenants include a shop that repairs cracked screens on cellphones and a business that helps Spanish-speaking customers with documents, such as wiring money, tax returns and navigating the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Shoppers can navigate the corridors by both sight and smell, taking in colorful displays as well as the scents of foods from around the globe.

Yong’s Family Restaurant serves up chicken dumpling soup and kimchi, a traditional Korean accompaniment of fermented veggies. Masala cafe focuses on vegan Indian cuisine. Alex’s Bar B Que sells pork sausages—as well as the pig’s feet and tails in the meat case. West Indies, a jot of a grocery store, offers such specialities as guava jelly and oxtail seasoning. At J&H Seafood, whole Alaskan salmon glisten on a bed of ice.

The market has long been the go-to place for hard-to-find services. On this day, a cobbler repairs shoes while shoppers peruse a heap of teas, shampoos, kids’ vitamins and pantyhose, all marked $1 at PT’s Discount Vitamins. There’s a vacuum cleaner repair shop and a vendor who specializes in fixing skateboards.

“People can’t find these services easily,” Beecher says. “That is a big draw for us.”

[caption id="attachment_69033" align="alignright" width="300"]https://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NC-farm-market-inside.jpg Pennsylvania Dutch vendors at New Castle Farmers Market have had special wing since 2008.[/caption]

Tiwana Hammett and her husband Anselm come for the food, heading to the market each Friday from their home in New Castle. They enjoy a plate of barbecued ribs before shopping for meats and produce.

“Today we bought chicken—an oven roaster—and ground beef at Stotzfus,” she says. “We like the quality of the Amish meats.”

Stotzfus and other Pennsylvania Dutch vendors, once sprinkled throughout the market, have occupied a dedicated wing since 2008, when the market was largely rebuilt following a fire. Vendors include a sausage sandwich booth that has been operating for more than 25 years.

Chocolate covered bacon is a best seller at the Amish candy store. But a purveyor of garden sheds, didn’t resonate with customers.

“Now they sell donuts there,” Beecher says.

Occasionally, a vendor sells his or her space. One business recently fetched more than $200,000, which included the fittings and equipment.

“They lease the space from us,” he says. “But the business belongs to them.”

Eggs, 29 cents a dozen

In 1954, the market’s grand opening advertising spread in the Wilmington Morning News listed a cornucopia of bargains. A few nibbles: pork loin, 29 cents a pound; 25 oranges for 49 cents; and farm-fresh eggs, 29 cents a dozen. Goldenberg’s sold children’s shoes, two pairs for $3.50. Becker & Burns offered fur stoles and coats, starting at $10.

On Oct. 31, the market will celebrate its anniversary with free Amish horse-and-buggy rides and a display of classic cars manufactured in 1954.

“It’s a milestone and we want to make it a great day for the shoppers,” he says.

Beecher managed flea markets in Arizona and Virginia before coming to New Castle in 2008.

“We are continually trying to make it a better experience here,” he says.

In recent years, the market has added such improvements as air conditioning and updated lighting. Currently, restrooms are under renovation and the exit to the parking lot is being widened. The market is owned by Associates of Wilmington, who also is the landlord for other tenants in Airport Plaza.

[caption id="attachment_69033" align="alignright" width="300"]https://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/farm-market-barber.jpg The barber shop at New Castle Farmers Market has a decidedly old-school feel.[/caption]

Several years ago, the market commissioned a study by a University of Delaware professor to determine the demographic of the 15,000-30,000 shoppers who pass through its doors each week.

“We learned that it’s all over the place,” Beecher says. “We have our core of blue-collar customers, plus more affluent consumers.”

Shoppers with deep pockets will find such wares as artisan cheeses, priced at $18.99 a pound. At an organic produce stand, perfect but pricey cauliflower and cabbage are displayed individually, like living sculptures.

Currently, there’s a waiting list for vendors. Beecher says new tenants are selected on the basis of their business plan and how the merchant compliments the existing mix.

“Is it different from what we already have? What is their personality?” he asks. “In a big market like this, everything has to work together.”