Wine & Sharp Knives Spice Up Farmers Market

Two new stands awaited those attending the Chatham Borough Farmers' Market at the on Saturday.

Fresh for shoppers were Jennifer Tanner's Unionville Vineyards wine booth and Iris and Jim Montedaror's knife sharpening booth.

Chathamites seemed to enjoy the the wine booth, as it was almost completely sold out.  

“This is my first day here at the market,” Tanner said. “I’m absolutely delighted. I was amazed at how popular the market is, [and amazed at] the tremendous community support for local farming. It was a wonderful day for us.”

“Next time I’m going to bring more wine," she added. "Our wines were quite popular today. It’s a wonderful farmers' market.”

Also successful and unique was the knife-sharpening booth. 

“[The business] all started with my knives,” explained Iris Montedaror. “I was complaining that I never had any sharp knives and then Jim decided that he was gonna learn to do it and he did and then he was doing the neighborhood’s [knives] and the friends.” 

The couple then decided to make some money from it.

“We enjoy doing it,” said Iris Montedaror. 

Both booths were welcomed by many who came to the market.

“The additions of the wines is wonderful,” said Rosalinda Williams who brought her 7-year-old son, Max, to the market.  

“We enjoy walking over and seeing what’s new. And getting some fresh veggies. Max likes the tomatoes and the mozzarella.”

Chatham resident Ken Ryan brought his dog Cookie to the market.

“I live right around the corner and it’s very convenient, and I usually pick up some fresh vegetables, and it’s good exercise for Cookie," he said. "She gets to visit other dogs.”

Jim Myracle also brought his dog Wiley.

“[Wiley] loves being around people so this is a great place for him to go,” Myracle said.

Several families also found that the market was a great place to bring their kids. Nicole Takya brought her two sons, Joseph and Ryan, to the market.

“They love the pickles," she said. "I walked all the way here for the pickles."

Holly Cobiello, age 8, visited the market for the first time today.

“I like it," she said. "On the way home I might get a donut.

She said that her favorite part of the market was “getting a donut.”

Also relatively new to the market is Dan and Christine Rose. The couple has just recently moved to Chatham from Boston. They said they really enjoy the market.

“It’s close to home, we can come down here very easily and it’s got a bunch of different stuff that you typically don’t see in a general grocery store,” Dan Rose said.