East Aurora Advertiser

New Market Offers Evening Out Alongside Fresh Produce



Tuesdays in the summer just got a lot more special. There is a new, local farmers’ market that is more than just a quick stop for veggies. 

It can be an entire evening out.

After 10-years in the community, Elm Street Bakery, located at 72 Elm St., is expanding a bit by offering a weekly farmers’ market. The market is open every Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. It first started in May. Partnering with four local farms, it offers an evolving selection of fresh produce – and some extra ingredients that can turn the produce into dinner – while it also offers fresh bread, fresh-cut flowers, live music and other vendors to shop at. The market takes place in the back parking lot behind the restaurant, which is also open at that time. The cocktail shack behind the bakery is also open selling adult beverages.

“It’s a niche idea. Not everyone has something to do on a Tuesday evening,” Kelcey Gurtler said, who runs the market. She lives in East Aurora and has been working at the bakery for years. 

Elm Street Bakery has started to host a weekly farmer’s market on Tuesdays.

“We wanted to bring the community together and shine light on local farms. They have always been such a champion for local produce. ”

At this time of year, the market is carrying leafy greens and lettuce. A few weeks ago, people were selling kohlrabi and tatsoi. Kohlrabi is a German turnip, and it can be used like brussel sprouts or cabbage. Tatsoi is Asian lettuce that is often compared to spinach.

“We are really trying to expose people to vegetables that maybe they don’t have experience with,” Gurtler said. “People love the way it looks and they want to buy it, they just don’t know how to use it. Since we are so small we can talk with people about how to use them, and we even have kits on how to cook them and use them in a salad.” 

Gurtler said they sold out of both vegetables the weeks that they were sold, but if they hadn’t, the leftovers would have been incorporated into dishes at the bakery for the rest of the week.

“There is zero waste with this market,” she said.

Gurtler manages an Instagram page for the market, and on the weekend she gives previews to which vegetables and vendors will be there. All of the vegetables are from farms that are certified organic. The market is currently working with four farms – Root Down in Clarence Center, Dirt Rich in Springville and East Aurora, Groundwork Market Garden, which is an urban farm in the fruit belt of Buffalo on Genesee Street, and Chestnut Hill Farm in Orchard Park, which has pork, eggs and honey. 

Gurtler contacts the farmers each week to see what they have for her, then she drives to collect the produce.

“They don’t have the manpower to deliver this way. I used to work on a farm so I know how hard it is,” she said. “I try to represent them the best I can. They are the rock stars here.”

The market invites two vendors each week, and they are always different. So far, they have carried jewelry, ceramics and cross stitch items, among others.

Along with food for sale, the market at Elm Street Bakery features other types of vendors each Tuesday evening.

“One thing they all have in common is that they are all small, female-owned businesses from the Buffalo area. That started off by accident but we are rolling with it,” Gurthler said. “All of our farm contacts are female as well. I love that about our market.”

Drinks can be purchased outside Elm Street Bakery every Tuesday evening at the market.

For more information about the market, follow them @esbfarmersmarket on Instagram.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.