The new United Farmers Market of Maine in Belfast drew 2,000 people for its opening.
The Bangor Daily News reported that the market was created by entrepreneur Paul Naron, who purchased the former Mathews Brothers window showroom a year ago to establish a year-round indoor farmers market to open on Saturdays. He spent $1.5 million to refurbish the building.
For the opening, which was on May 27, more than 65 vendors came from as far as Van Buren in the north and Portland in the south.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this busy,” Al Corliss, the manager of Ararat Farms in Lincolnville, told the BDN.
Naron said further improvements are in the works, including more vendors from a waiting list, and more tables for the Bayview Room, a section where people can eat and socialize.
Shoppers told the BDN they hope the new market will complement rather than compete with the Belfast Farmers’ Market, which opened 37 years ago. That market’s vice president, Anne Saggese, said that there has been some confusion in the past few months about the two.
