Early morning market-goers are a unique breed.
The sun only just peeking over the horizon, plumes of warm breath fogging the chill air: what is it that inspires people to leave the comfort of their warm bed on a cold, dark winter morning?
And do these top-tier, dedicated market goers have any valuable advice for those, less experienced Saturday Fresh Market shoppers?
Aussie, Kyla and family arrive at the Saturday Fresh Market every single week at 6am. While Aussie and Kyla might struggle with the early starts, their children Morgan and Darcy are always up for the adventure.
“Darcy is always asking to eat all the produce immediately; the kids love it. It is quality family time for us,” Kyla said.
With that level of demand from the kids, it’s easy to guess what it is that brings the family back, week after week.
“It’s the fruit and vegetables that bring us back every week. The Saturday Fresh Market really has the best produce at the best prices,” Aussie said.
“Plus the best honey, bread, chocolate and eggs!” Morgan pipes up.
Kyla laughed, “Yeah, we basically buy all our groceries here.”
But there’s also an important community aspect to the family’s weekly shopping trip.
“We run a small business, so we prefer to support other local small businesses and the Saturday Fresh Market makes that easy to do,” Kyla said.
The family’s tip for new shoppers? “Get to Sprout Bakery and the fresh produce early. Then you’ll have time to wander and check out everything else,” they said.
John and Vik also make their way to the Saturday Fresh Market weekly, even in the middle of winter.
“We come every week because we can always get good coffee and fresh produce at good prices, oh and an almond croissant!” they said.
“We do all our shopping at the Saturday Fresh Market, the major supermarkets are too expensive and everything is nicer here for a better price.
“Our favourite stalls are Healthy Lifestyle Fruit and Vegetables, Black Sheep Coffee, Sprout Bakery, Butcher Boys, Sudon Eggs, and Health Bazaar for spices and honey.”
Adam and Penny head to the Saturday Fresh Market every fortnight and enjoy their early morning wanders through the aisles.
“We come for the beautiful fresh produce, especially the olives – Yianni’s is one of our favourites along with Mum’s Crepes, Mr Coffee’s, and the Little French Bakery.
“We love all the plants, fresh produce, bakery items and nearly every visit we make sure to pick up some flowers.”
It’s been a while since Nufe, Lau and Locky visited the Saturday Fresh Market, but it didn’t take long for them to remember what they had been missing.
“The fruit is so much cheaper than the supermarkets, we can’t believe it’s been so long since we were here last. We really like the new venue, it’s way better now it is undercover,” they said.
As for a top tip, “We look at everything first to compare price and quality, then go back through to buy what we need”, they said.
But the most important piece of wisdom relates to ‘do as we say, not as we do’.
“We brought an esky with us, since it had wheels we thought it would be handy, but no. We highly recommend getting yourself a trolley!”
