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Farmer's Market Punta Gorda
Revisited
For many years, residents of Punta Gorda have known where to find
good quality, fresh produce at very reasonable
prices. They have found a friendly open-air farmer's market at
the American Legion’s Post on Taylor Road in Punta
Gorda.
 Presently
there are two family run produce sellers at the
market, the
Torres and the Singletarys. Below we will
highlight both of these families starting with the
Torres'. We will also introduce you to Al
“The Flower Guy.”
Torres
Family Produce
Donita & Jesse Torres and their
three children operate their Torres Family Produce
business at the American Legion Post on Taylor Road.
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They are open year round every Saturday and
Sunday from 7-2. They have been in business
for three years and have seen their business
steadily grow. Recently they doubled their
space and what a difference it has made.
Their customers are delighted to have more
room to shop not to mention the increase in
variety and selection of produce. |
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back:
Ophelia
Jesse Jr.
Donita
Jesse
front:
Joe Lindsey
Marc |
Jesse’s background has always been in
selling produce, he was the middle man,
buying from the huge produce markets and
local farmers and selling to local
businesses. Donita worked for twelve years
managing the bakery and deli department in a
large grocery store, but found it took too
much time away from her children. Now during
the week, she manages the school cafeteria
at the Bakers Center, an Early Head Start
school on West Charlotte Street. She is well
versed in the food business. Three years
ago, Jesse and Donita set a table up each
Sat. and Sun at the American Legion Post and
started selling watermelons and cantaloupes
that they had grown on their farm in
Venice. This temporary set up soon evolved
into a thriving business.
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Hundreds of people
faithfully show up every Saturday and Sunday
to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables.
Due to the overwhelming demand for fresh
produce at a very reasonable price, Jesse
and Donita bring in extra help during the
months of October through April. The
Altenburg family, originally from Wisconsin
whom the Torres’ have known for 18 years
often come in to help them out. |
Because they buy in volume, the Torres’
family can offer low prices for good quality
produce. They buy their produce from the
large produce markets in Immokalee, Plant
City and Tampa and also from area farmers.
They try to buy as much produce as they can
that is grown here in the United States; one
exception of course, would be the bananas
which are generally grown in South America.
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Many of their customers buy tomatoes and
peppers by the case for canning and
freezing. The Torres’ family is happy to
take special orders. Customers can call
ahead and order a case of tomatoes to take
back with them when they head up north for
the summer. They can pick these up on Friday
evenings or Saturday mornings. Donita and Jesse also
wholesale their produce to several area
restaurants in Punta Gorda and Port
Charlotte.
Their three children
are Ophelia 19, who graduated from Charlotte
High, Jesse Jr. 16, who attends Charlotte
High and Marc 13, attends Punta Gorda
Middle. All three children help out with
the family business. Ophelia can be found
behind the cash register or restocking
produce. Marc and Jesse Jr. make sure the
bins are kept full and the place is kept
neat and clean. This is a very friendly
family, always willing to help their
customers. They know many of their customers
by name and if not by name by lots of
familiar faces. Loyal customers can always
find great fresh produce at extremely
reasonable prices. There are large bins
filled with produce that customers can pick
from. The Torres’s family provides small
shopping baskets or plastic bags for your
convenience or many customers bring their
own canvas bags.
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During the winter months
when the snowbirds are in town, this is a
bustling hive of activity. This place is so
busy that the American Legion has to have
folks help direct the morning traffic and
assist with parking .Customers
arrive early for the best selection, although I have found there is still plenty
of produce available throughout the day.
Donita and Jesse met in Texas and made Punta
Gorda their home eight years ago. They have
been married for twenty years and
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will be renewing their marriage
vows this July in Mexico, in Jesse’s hometown
- San
Luis Potosi, Rio Verde, Mexico. Donita’s
parents and other member of her family will
travel to Mexico for this happy occasion.
I have tried different
fruits and vegetables at the suggestion of
other customers. Some even share recipes or
tips on how to prepare a particular
vegetable. One couple, who use to grow corn
in Minnesota, explained to me how to select
good, ripe corn. Another lady shared her
recipe for preparing Swiss chard.
Please note: Jesse
and Donita close for the first three weeks
in July for their annual family vacation to
Mexico.
The Torres family are
good stewards for a clean environment; they
recycle the cardboard boxes and take them to
the recycling center on Nesbit Street. They
reuse the waxed cardboard boxes that the
peppers come in. A local farmer picks up
the produce waste for food for his hogs.
Everybody leaves happy.
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Kathy's Produce
Kathy’s Produce first
location was a small area by the pond at
the American Legion Post, where everything
had to be removed by the end of each day.
This situation improved after a permanent
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opened up at
the front entrance of the Post. Now their
stand has permanent tables and bins and is
protected from the weather. They have
watched their business grow into a year
round business by adding summer hours three
years ago. Their produce stand is staffed by
friendly employees who are eager to help
you. It is evident that the Singletary’s
take pride in ownership of their business
and they are proud to offer a money back
guarantee on their produce. |
The produce found in their market comes from
the large produce markets in Tampa,
Immokalee, and Plant City, Florida. In
addition to the large markets, Kathy and
Gerald are also able to buy produce from
different farms in the surrounding areas,
such as collard greens and mustard greens
from a North Fort Myers farm; strawberries
from St. Marten’s Farms and Lloyd’s Farms in
the Plant City area. Also one of Gerald’s
nephews provides watermelons, tomatoes and
cantaloupes from his farm on Highway 31.
Certain times of year, the Singletary’s will
make a trip up to Georgia to buy Vidalia
(sweet) onions or Georgia peaches. Be sure
to ask them when their next trip is.
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| Gerald, who is
originally from Cairo, Georgia moved to
Florida when he was five years old. Kathy is
originally from Alexandria, Virginia and has
lived in southwest |
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Florida for the
past 32 years. Between the two of them they
have over 92 years of experience in the
produce business. According to Kathy,
Gerald’s love for fresh |
produce can always be found at their dinner
table. So they can enjoy their favorite
fruits and vegetables year round, Kathy cans
and freezes the abundance available to them.
And no dinner would be complete without a
delicious fresh salad.
There is wide assortment of fresh produce to
choose from at this neatly maintained
market. Each Saturday, customers can find
35-50 different produce items to choose from
and 20-25 different items on Sunday. Kathy
is happy to help her customers with their
special orders. For the first time this
year, she had requests for okra, snow peas
and Brussels sprouts.
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Karen
Johnson, Christina Pattillo, Kathy
Singletary |
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The Singletary’s have many
regular customers who come just for a
particular item. There are four couples who
on a regular basis only purchase 25-30lb
cases of stewing tomatoes for canning.
Another gentleman comes every Saturday at
6am to buy the same items: bananas, lettuce,
cantaloupes and 6-9 zucchini (his wife loves
zucchini). They also have several area
restaurants who have found this great
produce stand.
Like the Torres family, the Singletary’s
also recycle their |
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cardboard and the local
farmer picks up the produce waste for his
hogs. Kathy also donates food to two local
families in need and donates to local food
banks.
Buy local and support two hard-working
families that give back to their community
in numerous ways.
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Al
- The Flower Guy
After selecting fresh fruit and vegetables
from the two local vendors, one can also
find fresh cut flowers to take home.
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Adding to the ambience
of the open air market on Saturdays and
Sundays at the American Legion Post on
Taylor Street is Al, “The Flower Guy”. Al
sells fresh cut flowers by the package or by
the case.
Al and Kate Niemczyk
have lived here since the early 70’s.
After 23 years with IBM, Al Niemczyk
found a second career selling |
fresh cut flowers with his
wife, Kate. Since they began their business
five years ago, they have gone from selling
from one location to five different
locations and have started a landscape
nursery in North Fort Myers. Two days a
week, Al and Kate can be found in Punta
Gorda selling their beautiful selection of
flowers.
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On Friday’s, Kate is set up at the Farmers
Market at the corner of Virginia & Taylor
Street, in downtown Punta Gorda from 7am to
1pm and Saturday mornings, Al can be found
at the American Legion Post on Taylor Street
from 7am to 1pm. They accept special orders
and provide flowers for area churches,
country clubs, restaurants and caterers,
weddings, and organizations.
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"If you are really living... you are enjoying the Punta Gorda
Life"
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