From Memorial Weekend until mid-October, the Stonington Village Farmers Market sets up every Saturday in the back parking lot of the Velvet Mill at 22 Bayview Avenue, from 9 a.m. to noon. In mid-October the market moves inside, to the back room closest to Meadow Avenue. The hours and the address stay the same. What changes is that the market now shares a roof with the businesses that keep the building busy after noon.
The Stonington Village Improvement Association, which runs the market, ties the move to Columbus Day weekend. This year that makes Saturday, October 10, the start of the indoor season. From then until spring, a Stonington Saturday morning mostly happens inside one old mill.
A market that has stayed open through winter since 2008
The market started in 1997. In 2008 it began running year-round on Saturdays, with the winter markets held indoors. Its late fall, winter and spring markets have run long enough to have their own routine. The SVIA describes that routine this way:
"On cold winter Saturdays, it's fun to stop in for a hot cup of homemade soup, a chat with friends, and to see what the farmers and craft vendors are offering. Get there early before the greenhouse spinach or baby bok choy sells out!"
That last line explains the indoor season. Greenhouses let local farmers bring fresh produce all winter. The greens are limited, though, so the hours that matter shift toward 9 a.m. A few practical changes come with the move:
- Hours stay the same. It is still every Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon.
- Dogs are still welcome in most areas, but health code rules keep them out of the area where fresh prepared foods are sold.
- Musicians move inside too. The SVIA says a variety of musicians play through the gray months.
- Craft tables turn toward holiday gifts. Different craft vendors appear each week, and the SVIA lists candles, pottery, jewelry, wooden bowls, cutting boards, soaps, note cards and table linens among the handmade goods.
Beyond produce, the SVIA lists jams, breads, pies, cheese, eggs, poultry, meat, seafood, Italian ices, maple syrup, honey and flowers. Prepared foods include salsa, soups, meat pies, hummus and breakfast sandwiches.
Who might be behind the tables
The SVIA publishes a list of vendors who "may participate," which is different from a guaranteed weekly lineup. The list includes Apis Verdi, Broad Brook Acres, Davis Farm, Issa Catering, Jon Fish, Seacoast Mushrooms, Sugar Maple Farms, Sweet Acre Farm, Wakin' Up Waggin', 18th Century Purity Farm, Stonyledge Farm and Studio Farm Products, Summer Hill Catering, Cato Corner Farm, Treatzles, Fiber + Mud, and Yalla.
Apis Verdi is a good example of how the market stays stocked in January. The SVIA describes it as a small, diversified vegetable farm on the historic Lebanon Green that uses a low-till system with mostly hand-scale tools and compost. That approach lets it harvest and sell produce 52 weeks of the year. A farm that harvests every week of the year is a big part of why a market that began as a summer event could go year-round in 2008.
For a heads-up on which vendors are coming each week, the SVIA keeps a mailing list. To join, send your name and email to [email protected].
The rest of the building keeps going after noon
Once the market is indoors, the Velvet Mill's year-round tenants are only a hallway away. The mill's business directory includes these food and drink businesses, along with Back Door Kitchen & Pizzeria:
- Whitecrest Eatery, Unit #14. Its website lists Saturday and Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it is open Wednesday through Sunday.
- Meryl + Masa, Unit 75, which calls itself a sourdough bakery and Latin eatery.
- Zest Fresh Pastry, Unit #1A.
- Beer'd Brewing Co., Unit #15, a Stonington microbrewery with a tasting room.
Whitecrest's brunch starts at 11, and the market runs until noon. For that last hour, you can shop the market and sit down to brunch in the same building. We couldn't confirm Saturday hours for Meryl + Masa, Zest or Beer'd, so check their own pages or social accounts before planning around them.
October 24 runs from morning to night
On one Saturday this month, the building is programmed for most of the day. The Velvet Mill's October calendar lists the farmers market from 9 a.m. to noon on October 24, plus a separate event called The Makers Market from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. With Whitecrest's 11-to-3 brunch in between, events at the mill overlap from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day.
The calendar listing doesn't name the Makers Market's organizer, vendors or room. Those details will probably be posted closer to the date.
The bagels and coffee are changing too
The Velvet Mill is getting busier just as two familiar Saturday stops at either end of town are changing. Neither change was confirmed complete as of October 8, so check before you go.
The Flour Shop Bagels in Pawcatuck is moving to a bigger space. Patch reported in August that the shop plans to leave 20 Mechanic St. for the former Whistle Stop building at 15 Palmer St., with a new dining room and patio. Patch put the timing at fall, before the holiday season. The most specific timing came from an August 12 report in the South County Star. The shop would probably close at Mechanic Street after Columbus Day and reopen about two weeks later on Palmer Street. The Connecticut Scoop has also reported the move, and The Westerly Sun reported the owner's goal as no later than Christmas. If those plans hold, the shop could be closed for a stretch in late October while it moves. Its own announcements will have the actual dates.
Mystic Coffee Co. has been preparing a shop on the Stonington side of the drawbridge. In July, The Connecticut Scoop reported that the roaster planned its first storefront at 12 Cottrell St., next door to Mystic Salad Company, in a former art gallery and gift shop space. Renovations were underway, and the target was early fall. Patch reported the same plans. When we checked, the company's website offered organic specialty coffee online but didn't yet list storefront hours.
Old Mystic has a newer morning stop. In July, Patch reported a soft opening for Mystic Drawbridge General Store at 47 Main St. The ice cream business added pastries, baked goods and local goods, and it was open Thursday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those were soft-opening hours, so they may have changed since summer.
Taken together, a Saturday that used to start with bagels on Mechanic Street and coffee wherever you could get it may soon start on Palmer Street or Cottrell Street. Then comes the indoor market on Bayview Avenue, and brunch upstairs at the same address.
The October Saturdays still ahead
The Velvet Mill's calendar lists the farmers market every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon through the end of the month:
- October 10. Columbus Day weekend, when the SVIA says the market moves indoors.
- October 17. A regular indoor market.
- October 24. The farmers market in the morning, then The Makers Market from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- October 31. Halloween falls on a market Saturday this year.
The SVIA's page and the Velvet Mill's calendar describe the indoor room differently. The SVIA says the back room closest to Meadow Avenue, and the mill's listings say the Plaza room. Either way, it's the same building and the same hours, and the SVIA's mailing list and Facebook page are where week-to-week updates appear.
After October, the market keeps going. The SVIA describes the indoor season as running through winter and into spring, with soup, greenhouse greens and holiday craft vendors. The outdoor market returns to the back lot on Memorial Weekend.
If the Saturday routine at the Velvet Mill is part of why you love Stonington, I'd be glad to talk about which parts of town put you a short drive from it, whether you're thinking about a move nearby or just curious. Reach out to Holly Bellucci any time. Let's Connect.
