Browsing an outdoor market is one of life’s simple pleasures— especially when it means sampling delicious bites, discovering handmade treasures and supporting local makers. A farmers market is always a fun, family-friendly activity, but in Wellen Park the good times continue when the sun goes down. On the second Thursday of every month from 6 to 9 pm , head to Downtown Wellen to experience the Wellen Park Night Market. Featuring a rotating lineup of vendors from the weekly Fresh Harvest Farmers Market, the Night Market is a cooler way to shop, snack and soak up the vibes.

Pure Squeeze Juice & Smoothie Co.

“I’ve always cared about health and wellness and I was drawn to the idea of fueling my body with real, clean ingredients,”  says Emily Collins. Collins started experimenting with cold-pressed juice in her kitchen, creating functional blends that helped her feel energized and balanced. She wanted to share what she had learned with others, and her boyfriend encouraged her to start Pure Squeeze. Collins started out selling her cold-pressed juices from her tent, and has now graduated to a food trailer where she also offers  açaí bowls and smoothies. All of the smoothies are made with real, whole frozen fruit and no ice cubes, so they are packed with flavor as well as nutrients. Be sure to try the Instagram-worthy Pink Flamingo, which contains strawberries, pineapple, mango, orange juice, coconut water, vanilla Greek yogurt and red dragonfruit powder.

Pure Squeeze Juice & Smoothie Co., instagram.com/puresqueezejuiceco. 

Gasparilla Roasting

“We always tell people that life is too short to drink bad coffee,” says Steffen Capello, founder of Gasparilla Roasting. He should know. A daily coffee drinker, Capello estimates he consumes around 1,000 cups of coffee per year. He tried ordering specialty
coffee online, but because he couldn’t try it ahead of time he sometimes found himself stuck with roasts that weren’t to his liking. “So I started roasting my own and then got into the problem of having too much coffee,” Capello says. “I started giving it away to friends and family, but that didn’t quite cover what I was doing, and that’s when we started selling it at farmers markets.” While many roasters focus on traditional dark roasts and breakfast blends, Gasparilla Roasting specializes in fruitier, light roast coffees and often features exotic varieties like Honduras Geisha. In September, a brick-and-mortar location of Gasparilla Roasting opened in Englewood as a roastery and coffee tasting room.

Gasparilla Roasting, 941-564-5351, gasparillaroasting.com. 

First & Ten Hot Sauce

Andy Duffy knows a thing or two about sauce.   He owned a restaurant in Washington, DC, called Duffy’s Irish Pub which was renowned for its wings, made with a sauce of his own recipe. The sauce was so scrumptious, the wings were named to Food & Wine Magazine’s Top 25 Wings in the USA list for five years running.  “When I closed my restaurant in 2017, everybody was kind of after me to bottle my sauce,” Duffy says. “At first I didn’t because I wanted to chill, but around 2020 I started bottling it and selling it at different farmers markets, and it’s doing pretty well.” Duffy offers a few flavors of his popular and piquant sauces. In addition to the Original Cayenne Garlic recipe that started it all, he also offers Garlic Habanero and the Mango Habanero. The simple vinegar-based sauces are all-natural with real garlic, peppers and fruit. Occasionally, he’ll get inspired and make small specialty batches, like a Strawberry Habanero. No matter what flavor you try, it’s sure to make an impression and will definitely take your wing game to the next level.

First & Ten Hot Sauce, firstandtenhotsauce.com. 

Mia’s Truffles & Extra Virgin Olive Oil

“My husband Arber and I started our company in May of 2023 with truffle products,” says Xhesika Mahmutaj.“We brought the truffles from Albania, because we are both Albanians. And everyone was like, ‘Well, what else can you bring?’” Many people don’t realize it, but Albania has a rich history of olive oil production dating back centuries. Arber and Xhesika have a family olive tree farm in Albania, so they started selling extra virgin olive oil alongside their other gourmet products, including truffle oil, truffle honey and various truffle
salts. All of the products are handmade by the couple, who sell their wares at farmers markets throughout South Florida. Their truffle salt gift set with truffle-infused lava salt, Himalayan salt and gold flake finishing salt is a perfect gift for the gourmet cook in your life.

Mia’s Truffles & EVOO, miastruffles.com.