If you stopped by Lake Worth’s Harvest Time Market (4361 Hypoluxo Rd., 561-641-6199) during the past couple of months, found it closed and lamented the demise of a cheery, convenient place to get high-quality yet affordable locally grown produce, cheer up. They’re not dead yet.
In fact, they’re very much alive and in business.
There have been, however, a few changes. During the market’s closure for May through most of July, two of the four original partners and general manager Blake Ladenheim left for the proverbial “other endeavors.” Now run by remaining founders Robby DuBois and Richard Bowman and families, Harvest Time has temporarily scaled back some of its offerings, due to the usual seasonal slowdown and lack of available locally grown fruits and vegetables.
But DuBois says the new team “is staying with the same concept as before,” an environmentally friendly market featuring local, seasonal foods. For now, however, until improvements on the facility can be made, produce has been moved from the non-air-conditioned main room to a smaller, temperature-controlled room on the side. U-pick strawberries will again be available, probably in November, and the market will focus on products like tomatoes and corn that have proven most popular with customers.
Production of fresh-squeezed orange and sugar cane juices, which lapsed with the market’s closure, will be resumed shortly. But the weekend barbecue (ribs, chicken wings, pork) is still up and running, and the luscious pies and cookies of baker extraordinaire Josie Garcia are still being offered. Weekends also feature booths for local craftspeople to sell their wares, and in the future, even a small petting zoo is planned.
Congrats to DuBois and Bowman for not giving up on the market’s ideal. A convenient, friendly place for people to get affordable, quality produce, much of it from local sources, is a hugely welcome alternative to the often unappetizing, corporate-produced stuff of national grocery chains. But if they’re going to make a go of it, they need our support, which I, for one, am happy to give them.
(And, btw, Harvest Time Market is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Be there or be square.)
