Residents in Mountain Brook will soon have a new venue where they can choose locally-grown fruits and vegetables.
The Mountain Brook City Council recently approved a request by Urban Cookhouse to open the Crestline Farmer’s Market on Vine Street.
The new market will open June 4 and will run for 10 weeks through Aug. 6. The Crestline Farmer’s Market will be open from 4-8 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Laura Powell, farmers’ market supervisor for Urban Cookhouse, brought the request for the new farmers’ market before the city council.
“In response to our motto, ‘Buy Local. Eat Urban,’ UC desires to provide a connection between these farmers and the local community,” the restaurant owners wrote in their application to the city.
The Mountain Brook City Council voted 4-0 to approve the request.
Urban Cookhouse also manages two other farmers’ markets in the Over the Mountain area. One is at SoHo in downtown Homewood and the other is at The Summit.
The owners of the restaurant said all of the vendors at the farmers’ markets are local and provide food that is farmed within about 85 miles.
Powell said the goal of the farmers’ markets is to get the community behind its support of local farmers and vendors.
“We’re eager to start the farmers’ markets again this summer,” Powell said. “These weekly events reiterate our motto, ‘Buy Local. Eat Urban,’ and reflect our restaurant’s base foundation.”
The markets will have a variety of vendors and growers, Powell said. The Crestline market will focus on local produce with a selection committee in place for all non-produce vendors. Additionally, there will be a cooking demonstration each week to highlight Birmingham chefs.
There will be live music, face painting and corn hole games to engage shoppers, depending on the week, Powell said.
The Homewood market will take place every Saturday from May 10-August, excluding May 24 on Memorial Day weekend, from 8 a.m.-noon. The market will be in the Soho parking lot in downtown Homewood right behind City Hall. The Homewood market sponsor this year is Murray Building Company.
The Summit Market will be on Thursday evenings at The Summit Retail Center from May 15- Aug. 4, excluding July 3, from 2-6 p.m.
The start time of the market at The Summit has been pushed up an hour this year, Powell said.
“A lot of planning has gone into these markets over the past few months,” Powell said. “It is an absolute joy to serve these farmers and vendors, and I hope the Birmingham community will join us in this support.”
Among the vendors expected to be a part of the Crestline Farmer’s Market are Harvest Farm out of Fairview, Owl’s Hollow Hydroponic Farm out of Gadsden and Kenneth “The Peach Man” Easterling, who sells 12 varieties of Chilton County peaches during peach season.
For more information about the Crestline market, visit www.urbancookhouse.com.
