West End Farmers Market

I feel like 3 stars is overly generous but I visited early/​mid April so its possible they are still operating with a smaller winter market group of vendors. That being said, it was so small i drove past it a coupe of times because I couldn’t believe the small grouping of tents was considered a full farmers market.
There was a small semi-​circle of tents and the vendors were pleasant but this market just had no energy to it at all. There was a honey place, some produce, some fresh meats, a cheese guy and a few other mixed items but this was definitely not worth my drive from Franklin at all.

3.5
This market has more of a neighborhood feel than the behemoth that is the Nashville Farmers Market. I don’t know that this is a market people outside the West End/​Belle Meade area would frequent — and that’s a-​ok. Markets *should* be local. It keeps the flavor and vibe of the area true to form. There just weren’t that many vendors from which to choose. And, like Sheena T, I got a bit confused as to where I was (thinking, initially, I was coming to another, similarly-​named farmers market).
Despite coming on a Saturday in the summer, I was a bit disappointed in the produce selection. I was expecting to fill my belly with peaches and berries and, unfortunately, there wasn’t much in the way of produce besides greens. Fruit was in hiding. That’s not to say, though, that there isn’t/wasn’t goodies to be had. There was an abundance of baked goods (cookies, pies, muffins, and empanadas), cheese, soaps, lemonade, and other goods. For me, the market had the feel of a post-​church bake sale. Again, this isn’t a bad thing (being from Louisville, I’ve been to more than my fair share of post-​church bake sales), it just wasn’t entirely what I had in mind. But, the pimento cheese and chocolate pie were life-​giving. If you come here, make a bee line for both.

JUST ANNOUNCED!
They’ll be having a winter market from now until April, every Saturday from 10 – 12.
I’ll be going to grab some winter greens and delicious jam.

This great market has gotten even better as new vendors appear. There is now a second raw food vendor named Spark of Life, and their raw, gluten-​free wraps are great. I bought three different ones this morning.
The Hummus Chick makes the best hummus I have ever tasted. Her cilantro-​garlic hummus is incredible. You will want to eat it by itself it is soooo good.
The Marjorie Miller Designs Jewelry has several different excellent pieces of jewelry that make great gifts. I already started Xmas shopping, so from her today, I purchased two of her reversible pendants; three of her Chakra bracelets; and two pairs of her team colors earrings – orange and black for my Ensworth granddaughter and Nashville Predators colors for my wife.
The week before, I purchased tooth powder from another vendor, but she was not there today, and I cannot remember her name.
Of course, all the regulars are still there, including Delvin Farms, The Raw Food Warrior, and Westwind Farms and this is the place I go first to buy whatever I need that I do not grow in my garden.
If there was a way to put 10-​stars on just one retail entity, indicating that it was your favorite by far, then this would be the place. I so hope they will continue this market into the fall and winter. Maybe they can even move it indoors.

So this was my first stop on a Saturday «West Side Farmers Market» comparison adventure, and I was pleased to try a variety of samples from the vendors as well as purchase some produce, kale chips, and a delicious raw wrap from the ladies at Spark of Life! They had a nice set up with some live music playing and a solid amount of tents.
However, the produce was quite limited when I was here with only two tents offering fresh veggies and such. Bummer! They had a donut truck on site, but couldn’t see any area to get coffee. Boo!
However, I did enjoy the samples and left with some items, and was pleased overall. UNTIL I went to the other Farmer’s Market on Charlotte. I have to give them a higher rating. Mostly because it lacked the produce variety and no coffee!
However, I do support Spark of Life, so I’ll have to stop back by on another day and see what kind of variety is offered.
To hear more about my adventure… check out my review for the West Nashville Farmer’s Market! (Way to use EXTREMELY similar names so that I get confused!)

3.5 stars would be a bit more accurate in this case!
I popped in here on Saturday morning since I was picking up my Juice Nashville order and was pleasantly happy with the small cluster of local purveyors featured in this parking lot off of West End Avenue. Parking is a cinch and this location wasn’t overly crowded. As soon as I hopped out of my vehicle, I was greeted by an acoustic performer to go along with the bright sunshine.
I bounced on over to the Juice Nashville tent and picked up my order and decided to mosey on over to the florist tent, hummus vendor, and also Delvin Farms which was the main source of produce here. After lusting after a large box of their CSA packaged produce ($ 35), I decided to commit to their CSA program and enthusiastically joined on the spot. How could I resist the cucumbers, tomatoes, blackberries, green beans, kale, cabbage, and more?
Overall, this location is fairly convenient for me but the limited amount of vendors and produce are the only reason that I didn’t score it higher. I think over time as the market grows, it will become a more regular stop for me.

Lovely little gem. Relatively few vendors compared with other farmers markets, but what vendors they are! Good variety, friendly people, and good prices. Fresh-​from-​the-​farm eggs, cheeses, goat milk, organic breads, soaps, pies, candles … all sorts of goodies. Oh, and veggies — wonderful, wonderful veggies! Go early for the best selection. If I could change one thing it would be to have a food and coffee stall, but given the limited space, I doubt if that will happen. Small thing in the scheme of things. The most important thing is that all vendors are the producers — not some second party reseller — so you know that what you are buying is what they say it is. And they can tell you exactly how it is made/​raised/​farmed because they’re the ones who are doing it. So, bring your own coffee, hit the organic stand for a cinnamon role or muffin, and get out there and mingle! Great way to start your weekend.

So, the wife and I used to be regular customers of the «West Nashville Farmer’s Market» out on Charlotte Pike, and then the GREAT FARMER’S MARKET SCHISM-​POCOLYSPE OF 2013 happened.
If you haven’t been following the saga, in short, Sean Siple, the guy who runs WNFM, got pissed because he got kicked out of East Nashville Farmer’s Market, kicked Delvin Farms out of WNFM, and then proceeded to take a big social media shit over their entire organization utilizing every outlet possible. Siple also failed to disclose that he has a vested interest in the game, because he also re-​distributes food from Amish farms for his own profit.
Delvin took the high road and started a new market at Vine Street Christian Church for PRODUCERS ONLY; everyone at WEFM is vending goods they created themselves, not resellers (like the big downtown Farmer’s Market, hint, those aren’t local bananas).
Anywho, got a little mixed up on the parking here, as it looked like it was blocked off by a cop, so we ended up having to park at MBA, which was hosting a air rifle competition and ladies consignment sale, and was PACKED. Had a blast with the kids once we finally shlepped down there. In the future, I will know to park in the Vine Street lot.
A bunch of vendors were present, Delvin (obviously, scored some kale n green onions), Ousley Ouch salsa (got ghost chili salsa!), Noble Springs Dairy (got my currently broken Vegan wife some goat yogurt, Goatgurt? Yogoatgurt?), Foggy Hollow Farms (whose passion about poultry was enough to get the wife to start eating eggs again!!!), Cuppycakes bakery, Johnson’s Honey (they had a cool live comb on display which the kids loved, and honey sticks!), Kenny’s Cheese, Juice, Hummus Chick and lots more.
And down at the end, they had a cool chick playing guitar who got my kids dancing all over the place. A great way to burn an hour on a Saturday afternoon and get some shopping done! Note that there is a cool playground right behind the church; the kids had a blast with that, too!