Sisters Cookie Company started out as a children’s booth at the 2010 Moscow Farmers Market with one goal — giving Connie Rosendahl’s two daughters an opportunity to greet, count change and show off their homemade cookies.
The cookies sold out within two hours, and despite baking twice as many the following week, they sold out in three.
After arriving late to the third week’s setup, Rosendahl said she noticed a crowd gathered around her small card table.
“I thought they had moved us to a different location, but it was people waiting just for us — we were too embarrassed to not keep coming back,” she said. “We finished out that season, switched to an adult booth with more types of cookies, now we have our very own bakery here in Moscow. We’re here when it’s raining, snowy, windy, cold — we’re going to stay at it.”
The final market of the 2018 season will be Saturday, and while Sisters does not depend on product availability like many produce and plant vendors, Rosendahl said she agrees with the end date.
“We’ve gone six straight months, 26 consecutive weeks, even the farmers are done and ready to warm up for the season,” she said. “We supplement the farmers here, so for us to follow along with them really works, and we’ve already begun our switch to retail for the holidays.”
The market typically winds down as vendors begin to run out of produce.
Isaak Julye, co-owner of Moscow-based Deep Root Farms, said he and co-owner Greg Friestadt made the decision to pull out one week early.
“We had our frosts already — we didn’t make that choice, the choice was made for us,” Julye said. “It feels right. We’re all tired, we’ve been working hard all season and it’s a good time to be done.”
Deep Root Farms employees have attended the market for nearly a decade. Julye, and many arts and crafts vendors in attendance, said they plan to return for the Moscow Winter Market, hosted by the 1912 Center. The 2018-2019 season will last from Nov. 3 to March 2, spanning six Saturdays.
“Moscow is so supportive and local restaurants are too, we just couldn’t dream of a better setup for everything we have,” Julye said. “This next market is a good way to get your fall crops and winter greens, and we’ve seen this continue to grow as well and become a staple on a winter Saturday.”
Looking ahead to next year, Amanda Argona, community events manager for the City of Moscow said the best course of action is to check how the most recent season went and explore potential ways to improve the market. She added continuing to strike a good balance of market products is key.
Argona’s Saturdays begin at 5 a.m. and eventually lead to about 15,000 steps. In addition to managing the market and recruiting and scheduling vendors, Argona said she conducts traffic control and surveys the footprint to make sure everything is in compliance with city code.
“We’ll continue to make sure it’s in the best interest of the market, the vendors and the customers,” she said.
Rosendahl said even if the weather is less than ideal, the camaraderie among vendors helps keep her invested in the market.
“The support you have for one another, the respect wfor each other’s businesses, seeing certain businesses really bloom — it’s very encouraging among people who become your friends by working half a year together,” she said.
It’s not only camaraderie among vendors. Rosendahl said she never could have imagined a community could be so loyal and supportive, and one particular moment has stuck with her.
“One week we decided to take a Saturday off — 26 consecutive weeks at market so we finally did,” she said. “When we came back, the first thing someone said was, ‘I brought my mom to see you and you weren’t here, and we were planning a family thing.’ And so I promised we’ll never miss it again.”
Rosendahl said she has customers who have purchased something every single week for years, and even if it’s just one cookie, it’s the commitment that resonates with her.
“Every business that grows here gets to the point where you say, ‘Do we still want to do market, have we outgrown it?’” she said. “But it’s these people that put us in business, these people we get feedback from, these people who are so loyal to us. Even if it’s just a small piece of our business profile, it’s where you get to connect with people and what they want. We just don’t want to let that go.”
Max Rothenberg can be reached at [email protected]