New San Ramon Farmers Market Opens June 5

From San Ramon Farmers Market

The San Ramon Farmers Market will celebrate the Grand Opening of its new Wednesday market on June 5.

The new market - which will be open on Wednesdays from 3 to 8 p.m. (through October 30) at the San Ramon Sports Park, 5261 Sherwood Way - will feature about 20 vendors, including local Asian growers, hot prepared foods, and other artisan foods.    

"We hope the Wednesday market will attract a new audience that doesn't frequent our current markets on Thursdays and Saturdays," says market founder Harvindar Singh.

Ly Thao Nyaiya Farms of Fresno will make its San Ramon debut at the Grand Opening. Originally from Laos, this Hmong family of growers settled in Paris, France in 1976, after living in refugee camps in Thailand. Ly and his wife Pay lived in Paris for 30 years, where they raised their four children. For the past seven years, Ly, Pay and their two sons have been farming Asian produce on six acres in Fresno (their other two children still live in France).

Ly Thao Nyaiya Farms grows over 150 varieties of Asian vegetables and herbs without the use of pesticides or herbicides. Their offerings include okra, bitter lemon, Chinese long beans, sinqua, moqua, meethi leaves, red cane sugar, Japanese/Chinese eggplant and cucumbers, bell peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, ginger, French squash, cherry tomatoes, and 15 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes.  

They also grow aromatic herbs, including six varieties of basil: Italian, purple, Thai, lemon, French, and Indian. Jujubes (red dates) are the only fruit produced by the farm.

The new Wednesday market will also feature growers that are current market favorites, including: Calvillo Brothers Organics, Mellows Nursery & Farms, Smit Orchards, Medina Berry Farms, Ortiz Farm, and Diaz Farms.

Popular hot prepared food vendors like Ofa's Island BBQ, Green Lantern Catering, Beppy's Garlic Grub, Izalco Catering, and Kitchens of India will also be there.

Other artisan food producers include Cobblestone Bakery, Hummus Heaven, Kettle Pop, Anna's Pancakes, Specialty Cookies, and Heidi's Pies.

"We hope this new Wednesday evening market will become a nice, intimate community gathering place," says Singh. "The park setting will provide a wonderful environment for families to meet and celebrate local growers and local food - and have something fresh to cook or pick up each week for dinner!"

Stay current with the latest market news by joining the San Ramon Farmers Market community on Facebook. The Saturday market, located at 2680 Bishop Drive, is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Thursday market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2641 Camino Ramon. Both markets are year-round. For more information, please call Market Manager Kim Hickey at 925-914-0035 or email her at kim@sanramonfarmersmarket.org.