Nice 5th Market for the Grateful Dumpling and Geography

In a good example of how you just never really know what life will hand you, we at the Grateful Dumpling had a really nice day at the market. The weather has been very unpredictable, and on that particular day, it was cool and breezy, dare I say cold. The kids were wearing jackets, and even I began to second guess the wearing of short pants. Then again, it sure beat sweating my socks off.

We saw many of our friends, and are beginning to see many repeat customers, some of whom come and buy large orders, on the order of 20 or more dumplings. It's nice to see, I have to admit, and by the end of the day, we had sold out, so we're not complaining. N,J&A C came by and the kids all played together, which was nice. I've always liked JC, he's such a good kid, and he plays nicely with A&N. Good thing we had the Frisbee.

Also, at some point, a family showed up and played baseball on the field, and one of the kids asked N if he'd like to join in, and not only did he take part, but he shined. What a jock that boy is, and from our vantage point, it was too cute for words to see the kids hitting the ball and running with all they had around the bases. It warmed our hearts, to say the least.

Also saw H,E&D W, and they gave a thumbs up for the dumplings. What we love is when people stop by and try them, and then come back for more. You gotta love that.

We also feel lucky to be next to N and her alpaca store, she is so wonderfully nice, and I've once again forgotten the name of her business. Darn. Either way, she is an amazing person, and she always lets the kids help her out and hang out around her booth. She's said they're a joy, but we appreciate her patience in letting them explore all that she has to offer. Plus, she's got a big, manly pickup truck that is purple, so she wins points with the kids.

I did manage to get some local produce that we will use in the dumplings. We got scallions and some bok choy, and I've been told that the local CSA will have a booth at the local market, so we can get more stuff. Should be good.

We noticed that geography at the market can be a key to business. The booths that are at the entrance do the best, and I'm guessing that people buy stuff and just leave. We are at the far end, so we get the more adventurous people that are willing to brave the mysterious depths of the market. We don't get to hear the music as well, but I like our location. We have our little corner where we enjoy our neighbor's company. Plus we benefit from Allechante, which sells amazing baked goods (really amazing), and the kettle corn folks, whose product really draws a crowd. Food in general seems to attract people, so it may not be a huge issue.

There was a farm booth that sold fresh veggies, and they had a great marketing angle. The guy was making balloon animals, and included in the purchase of vegetables was a custom made balloon figure. How brilliant is that? The kids were lining up, forcing mom and dad to buy tomatoes or balloons-they cost $1 if you didn't buy produce. Of course A&N wanted balloon swords, so I got tomatoes and cucumbers. For the record, the tomatoes were beautiful, but clearly of the hothouse variety.

As I mentioned, we sold out, and we somehow managed to pace it so that it was never really that crazy and overwhelming. I wish we could do that for every market, but you just never know who is going to show up on any given day. For what it's worth, I do think the population of the big city has stabilized, with the regular crowd away and the summer population in place. This makes for a more regular crowd on market day, which is a good thing.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Dave Dyet and Jan Krat��na for the pics.