By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

ROYAL OAK — With a bag of vegetables in one hand and one with chips and homemade salsa in the other, Sherry LePage was doing something she has done many Saturdays for the past 30 years — shopping at the Royal Oak Farmers Market.

“I like the fresh vegetables and fruits,” said the Birmingham resident. “When I was teaching, I would get bushels of apples for after-school snacks (for the students).”

The market, 316. E. 11 Mile Road, has been an institution in Royal Oak for decades, starting out as the Curbside Market in 1925 so that farmers could sell their items locally instead of heading to Eastern Market in Detroit; then in 1927 the county and Royal Oak jointly built the structure that still stands today at the corner of Troy Street and 11 Mile Road.

The city took over complete ownership of the building in 1997, which allowed it to build out the parking lot. Major renovations were competed on the facility in early 2006.

The place to be
“It’s not just a market, it’s a destination,” said market master Gwen Ross. “It’s a place to meet old friends. I believe this is the heart of Royal Oak.”

The 50 or so vendors on a given Saturday provide a mix ranging from in-season fruits and vegetables, and locally raised meats to homemade honey, dry rubs and various other edibles. During the growing season, everything sold at the market is grown by the farmer who sells it.

“The tomatoes you get at the store … they cannot be picked ripe because they will be mush by the time they get here,” said Ross. “They are picked green. That’s why the tomatoes you get in the store never taste the same as you can get here.”

While they are open on Fridays during the growing season — with some vendors selling items — the market’s busiest day is Saturday. Hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days.

“I really enjoy it (here),” said Sharon Schmaltz of Bloomfield Township, who sells honey and beeswax candles. “I’ve got a lot of regular customers that come in and appreciate honey, the medicinal purposes of honey along with the flavor of honey just to eat. I’ve made a lot of friends here.”

She said her family and three others raise honeybees together in Clarkston and Ortonville, and have been doing so for the last 25 years.

“We do it as a family,” she said.

Ross said the market has really begun to pick up after various E. coli scares related to store-bought products over the past couple of years.

Although the facility is owned by the city, running the market does not cost the city money.

“Other than the original purchase price, this market has never cost the general fund one nickel,” Ross said. “Not only are we self-sustaining — we pay for our own expenses — but we put money away for the renovations that occur.”

One major renovation that is right around the corner involves kitchen improvements, which are scheduled to be completed this fall. The hope is the improvements will help market the facility for rentals, including wedding receptions, which they recently began holding.

‘More than a flea market’
While most might know the facility for the fresh produce it features on Fridays and Saturdays, the market gets transformed into a giant garage sale of sorts on Sundays, with tons of items being sold by more than 100 vendors.

“It is more than a flea market,” Ross said. “It’s really become more like an antique show.”

She said people can buy items like a cookie cutter for a quarter or even a painting for $10,000 — and plenty in between. Ross said her best purchase on a Sunday was a rod-iron furniture set that she purchased for $550.

“It’s gorgeous out on my patio,” she said. “It probably would have cost me a couple of thousand or more (brand new).”

Sunday hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., except holidays, when the market is closed.

For more information on the Royal Oak Farmers Market, visit them on the Web at www.ci.royal-oak.mi.us/farmersmkt or call (248) 246-3276.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1110.