Diverse Vendors Add New Flavor to Falls Farmers Market

Don’t let the cold, rainy early weeks of spring get you down. The Menomonee Falls Farmers Market, one of the surest signs that the warmth of spring and summer are upon us, starts very soon.

The early edition of the farmers market runs every Wednesday, May 4-Nov. 23, in the North Middle High School parking lot on Main Street, one block west of Appleton Avenue. The Sunday farmers market will run July 3-Oct. 30.

As always, this year’s edition of the market promises a great selection of foods and produce to suit nearly any taste. It will also feature several new vendors.

“We’ve got a lot of new vendors coming in and diversity is what I’m looking for,” said BID Manager Barb Watters. “We’ve got enough fresh produce and now we’ve got a vendor who’ll do beef, lamb, bison and goat.  We’re also having Great Harvest Bread Company coming in as well as Truffles by Jean Louis.”

Customers will be treated to an ever-growing array of products, including paintings, ceramics, custom framing/woodwork and hand-crafted jewelry. And, of course, plenty of great things that are ready to eat.

“Produce isn’t out yet but there will be some winter vegetables as well as cheese, eggs, honey, syrup and meat,” said Watters. “At both markets we have a prepared food vendor, Braz’s Beef Factory, who serves hot sandwiches, cold salads and beverages.”

Besides the great selection of foods and other tempting products, Watters pointed out that the Falls Farmers Market has several distinguishing features, including location, loyal vendors and longer hours of operation.

“I think what sets the Falls Farmers Market apart is that we’ve had some of the same vendors since 1992,” said Watters. “There are diehard vendors who have been here from the beginning and have just got that customer loyalty base.  Another thing that sets us apart is that we are right on Main Street and we’re open longer than most, longer for the season and longer for the day.”

The Wednesday market runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the Sunday market is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

One of those diehard vendors is Barb Gillich, who runs a farm with her husband in Iron Ridge.  The Gilliches have been regulars at the Falls market since 1999.

“I start out with selling vegetable plants for people to garden for themselves,” said Gillich.  “My new thing this year is I’m selling vegetable plants that can be eaten immediately or you can plant them, such as arugula.  It’s an herb that looks like a half cross between spinach and a dandelion leaf.  It’s phenomenal in salads and has a kind of nutty flavor.  For people who can’t eat nuts, it’s excellent because it adds the wonderful nut flavor you get when you put walnuts in a Waldorf salad.”

Since people always love making salads for a meal, the Gilliches will eventually be able to offer lettuce, spinach and radicchio, which is like a small lettuce head with a heavier leaf, similar to cabbage.

“With my husband’s Hungarian background, we have a huge European customer base there, many of which have very broken English,” said Gillich. "They are Indian, Hungarian and Italian and I really enjoy working with the different types of vegetables that Europeans are used to eating that you can’t necessarily always find around here.”

There are many reasons the Gilliches have been regular vendors for more than a decade and the Falls location is high on their list.

“The Falls market’s Main Street location is another great selling point,” said Gillich. “It’s such an ideal location because you’re right off of Appleton Avenue and it’s only a block north on Main Street from Appleton Avenue.  It’s a phenomenal location because you have a lot of apartment buildings there so people can just walk to the market."