NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Business is booming at the Nashville Farmers' Market with a number of new businesses filling up remaining permanent spots at the facility just north of downtown.
"It's been really great business so far, so we're really grateful for that," said Emma Burkey, who owns Bella Nashville at the farmers' market along with her husband, Dave Cuomo.
Cuomo's handmade, wood fired pizzas are already crowd favorites, and Bella Nashville has only been open for two months.
"All the businesses that have been moving in here really care about what they do and put 100% of themselves into it," Berkey continued.
Berkey said they decided to open at the farmers' market for the bustling lunch crowd and choice of fresh ingredients just next door.
They can literally walk a few hundred yards to see what local farmers are selling.
"That's what a farmers' market should be about," said Berkey, "using good ingredients and working with local purveyors."
Patrick Poumeg and his wife own Fleur de Lis Cuisine and tested their lunch menu on customers at the Grow Local Kitchen Friday.
"This is our first day, so we are a little bit stressed and nervous, because it's like a grand opening," Poumeg explained.
Sweet Stash, a local bakery, is getting ready for their grand opening, too.
They already run a small dessert stand at the farmers' market but will be moving into their permanent location soon.
Randy Owen's cheesecake stand is doing so well he'll soon be able to open his own store in Hendersonville.
"I think it's a great place to start a small business," said Owen, of Randy's Famous Cheesecake, "especially if you're an artisan or something like that."
With all the customers and all the new businesses, the farmers market is charged with taking a hard look at their policies and making big changes.
When the Metro Board of Finance looked at how the farmers' market was operating, they found in just the last year, they lost around $500,000.
To keep the farmers' market viable, Metro government made dozens of recommendations, including streamlining lease agreements between businesses and better monitoring expenditures and collections.
The farmers' market board is scheduled to meet in July to discuss Metro's recommendations.
