Wondering about the Beach Markets?
We’re proud to announce the Re-Opening and extension of The Indian Shores Sunday Morning Market!
As you may remember, the Indian Shores Town Council unanimously approved the brand-new Indian Shores Sunday Morning Market as there had been an overwhelming number of requests for a Sunday Market in the beach areas of Gulf Boulevard–one for those customers who are not able to visit on a weekday or for those who were looking for their favorite vendors on weekends. Thanks to the great folks at the Town of Indian Shores, the City of Madeira Beach, and to our friends at the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce, we at The Beach Markets were thrilled to have opened The Indian Shores Sunday Morning Market in December of 2014.
We Love Indian Shores!
The Indian Shores Sunday Morning Market is located in the Indian Shores Town Hall Municipal Center parking areas adjacent to Gulf Boulevard at 19305 Gulf Boulevard, Indian Shores, FL.
The Market hours are 9 am-1 pm each Sunday, weather permitting, November – April.
We’re family and pet friendly, too!
And we’ve got some GREAT Vendors!
Our vendors are some of the hardest working folks you’ll find in the industry and we offer a wonderful selection of amazing and unique items, some of which can only be found in our Beach Markets!
We’re a multi-talented community of Vendors in a many-faceted set of Markets, too!
Where to begin? There is SO much to share!
For starters, the Mid-Week Madeira Beach Open Air Market was brand new as of May 2014. We were also one of the largest open-air markets in the Tampa Bay area.
Located in the downtown area of historic Madeira Beach, the Mid-Week Market was located on Madeira Way between Gulf Boulevard and the Tom Stuart Causeway.
Our Market rolled in with a base of 90+ exceptional and impressive vendors offering everything from fine arts and hand-crafts to gourmet foods.
We’re a Farmer’s Market offering local (raw and delicious!) honey, Florida grown plants and herbs, flowers, nuts, and herbs. We’re a Foodie’s Market offering gourmet and ethnic specialties. (All of these items are rotating, so please bear with us as we find out what our new ‘pandemic normal’ will look like.) We’re a crafter and fine artisan Market, too.
Each of our Markets is just a bit different and the offerings will vary according to the Season.
In years past, you would find loaves of bread and baked goods, gluten-free foods, cheese, seafood, gourmet oils, vegetarian/vegan foods, cakes, out-of-this-world fudges and taffies, gourmet jams and chutneys, pickles and olives, and an array of other items. (Let’s hope our new pandemic normal will include these items!)
How about some pampering? We also offer essential oils and fine bath and body products that will rival the best of those found in high-end, luxury spas.
And we even have some tasty treats for our four-legged friends!
Looking for art? We’re also an Art Market where you’ll find local artists and crafters (many of whom are working while you watch.) Here’s a fast, fun, fact: Some of our artists are world-renowned and have works that are featured internationally!
Nearly all of our vendors offer discounts to our seniors, veterans, and active duty military—and to one another. The community reports ‘gifting’ from many of the vendors as well. Many of our vendors also contribute to a large number of community-based, charity events and oftentimes the public won’t even know where the donation has come from. It’s just something we do.
Some of our on-going campaigns, if you will, include that of sponsorship. The Beach Markets offers space within the Market footprint each Market day to a community non-profit group for the purposes of growth, community outreach, education, event promotion, fundraising, and public assistance. We’ve hosted performances, arts, and veteran’s groups, advocacy groups of all kinds, animal rescue clubs, religious organizations, and many, many other types of groups. Community assistance comes in a myriad of forms, and our Market Operations Manager, for example, is a member of the “5 Gallon Club” when it comes to blood donations, meaning that she has personally donated over five gallons of blood to date.
So, during the season, we also proudly host the Blood Mobile each month.
We’re super-supportive of our local businesses, too.
Some of our ‘plant people’ have gone on to open large nurseries, and others have opened storefronts.
We’re a collaborative bunch, too. The Markets are a microcosm really, a collection of small businesses within the confines of the larger business model of the Open Air Market. The Market is our workplace, our tents are our offices, and the other vendors are our fellow workers. And many of us wouldn’t dream of going back to the confines of an indoor cubicle, even when it’s raining.
We’re a community within the community! We gladly cross-promote one another and the other area markets that we participate in, and we take part in cooperative advertising on platforms such as those provided by Creative Loafing and the Tampa Bay Times. Facebook, of course, is the new norm when it comes to ‘being in the know’ and the Fresh Market has an ever-growing presence that promotes an “Every-thing and Every-one” Market. We’re ‘fans’ of our vendors and have a running set of commercials for our vendors when it comes to the Facebook timeline for the Market. We likewise openly support and promote the efforts of other markets and events in the area and press releases covering everything from new products to noteworthy happenings within our community and vending family are a weekly occurrence.
Our Open Air Fresh and Farmer’s Market is decidedly Community Centric—and many of us as vendors, as you already know, refer to the Beach Markets as our “home base” or “home port” from a vending perspective.
Our Markets are among the finest and most supportive from a vending perspective. We work together and co-promote each other’s products, often incorporating our own products with those of other vendors within the Market, and we give to each other and to the community. We do our best not to duplicate each other’s product lines and we work hard to stay current. This contributes in a multitude of ways that, in the long run, bring exponential successes.
Simply put, we believe in each other, in our products, and in our communities.
We Source Locally and we Supply Locally.
What many folks don’t really know is that our vendors are an amazing and extremely talented bunch of people with a tremendous wealth of life experiences to offer. We have vendors who have advanced degrees (and only thought they, like some of our fabulous volunteers, were retired), vendors who have gone on to open their own establishments–and several who have chosen to vend rather than maintain a storefront with employees. Some of our vendors have created product lines that have been picked up by nationwide chains and others who are quietly co-creating with area millionaires. Still, others have made the front covers of major publications with their products. Who knew?!