Taste

Get to know your local growers at Vegas’ Fresh52 Farmers’ & Artisan Market

Image
Adam Thomas, owner of Fresh52 Farmers’ & Artisan Market, at the Picked Today Produce booth in Tivoli Village
Photo: Steve Marcus

Here’s a great way to start the year while continuing to adhere to social distancing measures: Shop at farmers markets for seasonal produce and shelf staples like honey and oils. Adam Thomas, who recently took over the Fresh52 Farmers’ & Artisan Market, wants locals to think of the weekly gathering as their first stop in planning out healthy meals.

“We want to be a true farmers market, which Las Vegas really hasn’t seen,” Thomas says. “[At] most places outside of Las Vegas, you might have four or five or six strawberry vendors—you know, it’s just packed full of produce. … Las Vegas might never get to that [compared] to other agriculture-rich areas across the U.S., but we do want to hold true to a farmers market in that it’s better to be handcrafted and handmade, with no artificial ingredients.”

At Fresh52, which takes place at Tivoli Village on Fridays and Saturdays and in Henderson on Sundays, you’ll find more than three dozen vendors selling items like fresh salsa, honey, wellness products and pet food.

Thomas spent 20 years in the casino industry but took up farming full time in 2017, starting with a 20-acre plot in Kingman, Arizona, where he discovered fertile land and a good climate to grow almond trees. He has since added acreage to grow vegetables, and his two farms—Picked Today Produce and Kingman Organic Almonds—offer seasonal produce at the Las Vegas markets.

Even with our arid desert climate, so much can be grown here, Thomas says. And while we might all be accustomed to buying our produce at supermarkets, there is just no comparison to something that’s been recently picked from a farm. Take strawberries, for example, which you can find at Thomas’ stands right now.

“We have the sweetest strawberries—you’ve never had anything like it,” he says. “It’s not a prolific producer, and it doesn’t have a great shelf life. You have to really eat them within three to four days. Once you eat one of these strawberries, you’re like, wow, this is what a strawberry is supposed to taste, pink all the way through, super sweet and delicious.”

FRESH52 FARMERS’ & ARTISAN MARKET Tivoli Village: Fridays, 3-8 p.m.; Saturdays; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 9480 S. Eastern Ave: Sundays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Fresh52.com.

Tags: Food
Share
Photo of Genevie Durano

Genevie Durano

Get more Genevie Durano
Top of Story