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| - Spoiler alert! Having lived in other parts of North Carolina, both the Triangle and the Triad, I have to ding Charlotte's Regional Farmers Market. Yes, it has wonderful, locally-grown seasonal produce offered at rock-bottom prices, but it could be so much more.
Take, for example, the Triad Regional Farmers Market, located between Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Not only does it boast much more open-air shelter space, but its "campus" includes an awesome locally-owned and operated garden center, A.B. Seed & Company, a year-round enclosed retail grocery/market open weekdays and weekends, a family-style restaurant, and a wholesale grocery storage facility. I have spent hours there. How's this for a Saturday outing? Browse thru the enclosed grocery for local honey and dried nuts and fruit, hop over to the cafe, nosh on some home cookin', browse around the garden center, and finish it all with a gander through the open-air veggie and farm stands. Now THAT is a destination Farmers Market!
Given that Charlotte has such a wealth of local growers, sophisticated, diverse consumers, and locovores who love nothing better than to hang out with fellow foodies, I wish our Regional Market would capitalize on its potential to become a destination/gathering place for local food and plant lovers.
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