St. Pete Times Sun. Oct. 26th Sat. Morning Market in the NEWS !

Recently, there were a couple of negative letters-to-the-editor in the St. Pete Times that colored the Market very negatively. We felt the need to put our 2 cents in, and we have copied for you here, our letter to the SP Times that appeared in last Sunday's Editorial page:

"Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburg

Market improves

Saturday Morning Market is bigger and better than ever! As a longtime vendor at the market, I can assure you that our mighty market is still a great place to visit every week.

Our new location has afforded many positive changes such as more room for vendors, and more important, more room for our loyal customers to move around.

We have readily accessible restrooms now and increased table and chair seating for music and food lovers. Contrary to the beliefs of some, the market is not mostly composed of crafts but has a great balance of quality produce, ready-to-serve and take-home foods and products, a wide variety of plants and flowers, and, of course, lively music to sit and enjoy.

The food vendors are all located closely together, with many tables and chairs nearby to sit and enjoy purchases. The plant vendors are gathered to provide an enjoyable spray of color and aroma on your entrance to the market, and yes, there are many fine gifted artisans.

What's more important, this market continues to promote and provide a venue to the community to come together, and a place for its vendors to make a living. A majority of vendors do not have a conventional retail operation and are dependent on selling their products only at markets such as ours.

I urge everyone to continue to support the small independent vendors who work tirelessly to provide great products and work very hard to promote a great market experience.

Change is hard, and when moving to a new space, there are challenges for all. I am confident that the market organizers are continuing to strive mightily to keep our market going and growing.

Lastly, yes, parking downtown can be a challenge, but there are many parking garages nearby, as well as on-street metered parking. You might have to pay a small parking fee, or you may have to walk a little farther, but I promise you it will be worth the effort."

We had very positive response to our letter from customers today at the Pinellas Park Market. Thank you to all of those positive beleivers !