The indoor Riverhead Farmers Market will return to its original home at 117 East Main Street later this month.
One of the few farmers markets that is open regularly on the East End in the offseason, it has become a beacon for shoppers looking to buy North Fork goods.
A lease is expected to be signed today, according to Steve Shauger, general manager of Hyatt Place East End in Riverhead and president of the Riverhead Business Improvement District Management Association, which sponsors the market.
“We looked at a couple of different locations, but it just didn’t pan out,” Shauger said. “So we’re going to be keeping it in the same location, right in the old Swezey Department Store building.”
The market was held in the Swezey building for its inaugural season and again in 2015-2016. It was hosted in a larger nearby two-story building in 2014-2015.
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Shauger said the market will only be open Saturdays and that organizers are aiming for Nov. 19 as its opening day.
While it’s too early to know what vendors will sign up this season, Shauger has no qualms about filling the space.
“Of course we’ll give priority to downtown businesses if they want to partake,” he said. “From there, we’ll look toward vendors that have been with us for a couple of years, and then we’ll look to diversify what our offerings are in terms of space.”
Organizers are also looking for ways to make the farmer’s market a little different this season.
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“We’re trying to think of ways to spice things up a little bit,” Shauger said. “We’re putting a committee together of people we’ve had at the farmers market in the past and working with them. Obviously they work in the industry and will know how to take it to the next level.”
