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Farmer's Market returns to Lakewood Ranch Main Street [The Bradenton Herald :: ](Bradenton Herald (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 29--LAKEWOOD RANCH -- The newest attraction on Lakewood Ranch's Main Street will be the farmer's market return Saturday with fresh produce and other foods produced regionally. Jennifer McCafferty, owner of Jen's MarketPlace, leased the Main Street area, 8100 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., for an outdoor market featuring regional vendors selling everything from fresh produce, wild-caught seafood, spices and sauces, organic products, arts and crafts, beverages and snacks. After a three-year hiatus, the Main Street MarketPlace will open for business 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in front of the central Main Street stores. McCafferty manages three other farmer's markets in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, and is betting the return to Lakewood Ranch will be a big success. "I'm really excited about Main Street. I have a passion for eating fresh, eating organic, helping the community be healthy and helping our small businesses," McCafferty said, who owns a promotional marketing company based in Apollo Beach, of which Jen's MarketPlace is a subsidiary. Visitors to the pet friendly farmer's market can also enjoy a bite to eat at picnic tables under umbrellas near the vendors, listen to guitar music from a local musician, and meet and mingle with the community. Fresh From The Boat Seafood LLC, a vendor in the previous Lakewood Ranch farmer's market is returning, thanks to McCafferty's reputation and the prior success the company had servicing the Lakewood Ranch community. "It was a great group of people. I still have an email list of more than 300 and I've alerted them about the market reopening. We used to average a $1,000 a week from the Lakewood Ranch market. Plus, it's very easy to work with Jen," said Capt. Bill Dyer, owner of the company. Dyer said his company also travels to The Villages near Ocala, the largest master-planned community in Florida, which hosts a large farmer's market every Saturday. "We have a unique product, which is hard to find. We started doing markets eight or nine years ago, but our business is mostly shipping by Internet," he said. Jen's MarketPlace has a tentative six-month contract to operate on Lakewood Ranch's Main Street. More Saturday farmer's markets are planned for Sept. 27, Oct. 18, Nov. 22 and Dec. 20. Kathryn Moschella, Lakewood Ranch reporter can be reached at 941-745-7010. Follow her on Twitter @MoschellaHerald. ___ (c)2014 The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.) Visit The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.) at www.bradenton.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |