Schenectady Greenmarket back outdoors

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jessica Harding

The Schenectady Greenmarket officially moved outside Sunday after several months of holding the market indoors at Robb Alley outside Proctors GE Theater. Thousands of people got to shop in the summerlike weather for their favorite locally grown produce and plants, artisan breads and other local specialty items.

The outdoor market provides more space and allows the market to expand by about 10 vendors, according to Greenmarket board member Margaret Lazzeri.

The year-round Greenmarket officially opened in November 2008 and has quickly grown, mostly through word of mouth, Lazzeri said. About 2,000 people a week walked through the indoor Greenmarket this winter.

Board member Debbie Forester, said she likes both the indoor and outdoor market, because each has different characteristics.

Most Greenmarket vendors participate in both the indoor and outdoor market, but some are new, including Karin Savio who sells organic garden plants through her business, Peacetree. Savio said she only intends to be at the market through June because, by that time, everyone will have already planted their gardens and she won’t have anything left to sell.

Savio has been a regular at the Troy Farmers’ Market for several years and found that many of her former customers in Troy began shopping at the Schenectady Greenmarket instead because it was closer. She decided to participate in both markets this year.

Violet Robbins of Four-Wheel Farm in Pattersonville only participates in the outdoor market because she sells fresh-cut flowers that are grown on her farm. Sunday she brought brightly colored bouquets of tulips and apple blossoms, but she said the variety will increase as the season progresses.

Randy Cary of Battenkill Valley Creamery in Salem began offering ice cream at the indoor market and will sell the product outside in pints and quarts. Cary said the outdoor market is easier for him because his refrigerated truck is nearby, whereas he had to make multiple trips outside to get more product during the indoor market.

Dave Carlson of Glenville was shopping Sunday with his 2-year-old son Finley. Carlson said he was glad the market moved outdoors.

“It means it’s summer,” he said.

It sure felt like summer Sunday with temperatures reaching into the mid-80s.

Kathy Snyder of Niskayuna, a regular at the Greenmarket, said she also likes when the market moves outside.

“The fresh air, the people, the wide-open atmosphere. Proctors was great but this is better,” she said.

Lisa Zaccaglini and Mike Schuster, who make Mu Mu Muesli, have been selling their natural cereal at the Greenmarket since it opened.

Zaccaglini said she likes being outside in the fresh air.

“It’s just more fun,” she said.

The Greenmarket has helped the couple sell an original product that “most people can’t even pronounce,” Schuster said.

The Greenmarket has helped lure people to Downtown Schenectady and many organizations have piggybacked on the market’s ability to bring people to the area.

Capital District Local First, an organization that promotes local businesses in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga and Rensselaer counties, hosted their second spring Buy Local Bash inside Robb Alley, and the Schenectady County Public Library had a book sale.