Farmers markets bring business bonanza

Wednesday, June 14, 2000 | 2:43 a.m.

"In my operation it's 50 percent of my income," said Randy Chaffee, owner of Mountain Shadow Farms.

Chaffee, who grows organic crops 30 miles north of Reno, sells them at markets in Reno, Sparks and Carson City.

But he said the economic rewards continue long after the season ends. Customers who know him from the markets will drive out to his Red Rock Road farm to pick corn or dig potatoes well into the fall.

"I give them burlap sacks; we charge by the pound," Chaffee said. "The mothers like to bring the children. It's educational and the kids get a big kick out of it."

He also sells root crops in the off season to local chefs he met at the markets.

Victorian Square merchants have seen revenues grow along with the Thursday night Sparks Hometowne Farmers Market. After perusing the produce, a shopper might quaff a beer at Great Basin Brewing Co. or play a roll of quarters at the Nugget before heading home.

And vendors and artisans who travel to Sparks for the market often take hotel rooms nearby.

Matt Carter, director of marketing for the Silver Club, said Thursday-night occupancy rates have grown by as much as 35 percent since the market began in 1992.

"Normally, Thursday is the slowest night of the week," Carter said. "All of a sudden we go in our hotel from being the slowest to being a very good night."

Across the street at John Ascuaga's Nugget, senior executive vice president Stephen Ascuaga said he sees a noticeable spike in restaurant activity during the market.

Down the square at W.R. Adams Jewelers, Marcia Frugoli said she stays open late on market nights for customers, many of whom return around Christmas.

"We have the year-round Christmas corner," Frugoli said of the store's display of ornaments and other holiday items. "People will come back during the holidays and say they saw us during the farmers market. It has definitely helped our business."

Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce and city officials can't put a dollar figure on business generated by the markets.

"That indirect economic hit is hard to track, but we know it's there," said June Palmer, special projects superintendent for the Sparks Redevelopment Agency and executive producer of the Sparks market.

The dynamic is slightly different at the Carson City farmers market. Once located downtown, the market outgrew its original venue and was moved this year to more rural Mills Park.

Larry Osborne, executive vice president of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce, said actual participants in the market now reap most of its economic benefits.

"When it was downtown it probably did more to benefit local businesses. It's a self-contained attraction now," Osborne said.

Still, he said the market is an asset to the community.

"It adds to the ambiance and attractiveness of Carson City."