by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
There are lots of new faces at Downtown Vision, Inc.’s Hemming Plaza Market. Held each Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., vendors offer everything from fresh locally-grown fruits and vegetables to gifts and a variety of things to eat.
One booth that drew a crowd last week was “Maw Maw’s Peanut Brittle.” It’s homemade in the Southern style by Susan Koch, who uses an old family recipe handed down to her by her grandmother.
“I have been making peanut brittle all my life,” said Koch. “Everybody kept wanting it and I finally decided I couldn’t keep giving it away, so I started a business.”
Jewelry designer Charlotte Bartley said she was inspired to start her business because she couldn’t find things she liked in stores. She got into the business filed with a few very special creations.
“My husband was coming home from a military deployment and I wanted to look nice for him, so I created a few pieces,” said Bartley.
Kimberly Mattox is another entrepreneur who took a hobby and turned it into a business. She has collected teddy bears for years and started making them about six months ago.
“This is my first time selling my bears and it’s going pretty well,” said Mattox.
Market visitors also have a new lunch option. Sisters Maisa and Marina Guimaraes are from Brazil and sell “Tasty Sticks,” which are crepes on a stick filled with pepperoni and cheese or fruit and chocolate. They said they got the idea when they took a trip to Switzerland and decided the product would sell at the market.
The market also has a new manager, Natalsya Tucker. She is DVI’s Issue Resolution Coordinator and follows up on reports of lights that need to be replaced and repairs that need to be made to the sidewalks when she’s not looking for new people and products to add to Downtown’s weekly market.
When she took over as manager when Ed “The Rose Man” Jenkins retired, the first thing she did was go to other markets around town and meet the vendors in hopes of recruiting some new businesses to set up booths at Hemming Plaza on Fridays.
“I passed out a lot of business cards and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” said Tucker, who has so far secured seven new booths.
“My goal is to fill this park with vendors and artists and musicians who want to be a part of the Hemming Plaza Market. I’m excited about the direction the market is taking and we’re always open to new ideas that will bring more people out here on Fridays,” she added.
Tucker said anyone who is interested in setting up a booth should call her at 634-0303, ext. 225 or e-mail [email protected].
Jewelry designer Charlotte Bartley and Market Manager Natalsya Tucker.
Meldalina Woods is new to the Hemming Plaza Market. She sells handcrafted soaps and other bath products.
Sisters Maisa and Marina Guimaraes sell “Tasty Sticks.” It’s a cheese and meat or fruit filled crepe with a handle.
Kimberly Mattox and her daughter Taylor Burke brought their handmade teddy bears to Hemming Plaza last Friday.
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