With Valentine’s Day on Sunday this year, Hillsdale’s local vendors are planning something special in lieu of the holiday weekend.
Ad Astra Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee roastery on 106 N. Broad St., is hosting a Valentine’s Day-themed market on Feb. 6 and 13, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Black Dog Meadows Flower Farm, Clexo Paintings and Graphic Design, SGB Bakes, Mangia Italian Bakery, and Zoe Ray Designs are vendors set to participate in the market.
“I’ve had this idea of doing an indoor market, and Giana (Mangia Italian Bakery) thought of doing it right at Valentine’s Day,” Ad Astra co-owner Kristi Whalen said. “So then we reached out to a handful of vendors we knew from the farmers market and they all jumped on board right away.”
In the summer, Ad Astra sold its coffee at Hillsdale’s farmers market. After the market ended for the season, the roastery wanted to continue selling its coffee to the community, Whalen said. This led Ad Astra to start its own indoor market on 106 N. Broad St. every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Giana Green, the owner of Mangia Italian Bakery, has sold pasta and cookies at Ad Astra and came up with the idea for the Valentine’s Day theme.
“I wanted to curate something beautiful, something purposeful, that would get the community together,” Green said. “All the vendors are local artists coming in from all over Hillsdale, doing very specific and different — yet unique — things. There’s going to be flowers and jewelry and art and gluten-free baked goods and normal baked goods, and coffee.”
Green will be focused on selling sweets in lieu of the Valentine’s Day theme.
“At my booth, you’ll be able to build a box of cookies,” Green said. “We’re partnering with one of the vendors at the market for fresh flowers. So it’ll be nicely packaged with some of her flowers. And it’ll be a nice gift box for you or for someone you love.”
Green added that 15% of Mangia’s proceeds will go to Love, Inc., a local Hillsdale charity that helps churches provide for the community.
Stephanie Gordon, the owner of SGB Bakes, will be selling gluten-free baked goods.
“Some people like myself have a lovely sensitivity to gluten, and all the other allergens,” Gordon said. “I’m really big on sourcing local ingredients when possible. I use local eggs. And I use local honey and maple syrup. That’s the main focus of my products: I like to source local, organic when possible, and gluten-free.”
Gordon said that Valentine’s Day-themed market days are a good way to get the word out about Ad Astra and its indoor markets.
“We’re working on getting our name out there,” Whalen said. “After the farmers market was over, we had a lot of success and we wanted people to still be able to get coffee so we decided to start our indoor market on Saturdays. It’s an open market, so come and get coffee.”
