From behind a cone of hot lamb meat, Magdi Radwan called out to shoppers at the Hampton Farmers Market.
“Easy dinner tonight,” Radwan said, of his booth selling mid-Eastern delights such as gyros, hummus and spinach pie. “No fighting to clean the dishes.”
Radwan, a chef for 21 years, sells his specialties each week during the township’s farmers market at Hampton Community Park.
The parking lot bustles from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday with about a dozen vendors setting up shop to sell organic honey, all natural pet snacks, wine, local produce and popped-fresh kettle corn. The program runs through mid-October.
This year’s vendors include Bates & Hayes Kettle Corn, Cindy’s Munchies, Clink ’92, Eco Embrace, Gabriel’s Gardens, Joppie’s Gyros, Lathering Lotus, Loafers Bread, Mazzotta Winery, Olive & Marlowe, Russelton Bee Work and Pet Wants.
Radwan says that despite the long lines for gyros, his Basbousa is the most requested item. The dense cake flavored with lemon syrup is “light and easy to eat,” he said.
“The kids love it,” he said. “It’s not heavy in your stomach.”
The Hampton Farmers Market started in 2019 and has grown to draw hundreds of shoppers each week that enjoy the homemade goodies and good-for-you treats.
“Our melons are hot sellers. And our tomatoes,” said Casey Skiles of Gabriel’s Gardens.
The Sarver-based farm regularly brings a colorful array of veggies that include cucumbers, leaf lettuce and yellow beans.
“We grow with love and if we can’t grow it, we work with area farms to keep it fresh,” Skiles said.
At Bates & Hayes Kettle Corn, a gigantic drum was popping fresh kernels mixed with a secret concoction of sugar and salt. The owners started selling their popcorn at Penn’s Colony, an annual summer fair in Saxonburg, more than 20 years ago. They’ve since become staples at local farmers markets that include Verona, Forest Hills, Monroeville and Carnegie.
Not every customer at the market on July 21 was shopping for themselves. Fifteen-year-old Madeline Meier of Shaler spent several minutes browsing the small-batch pet food and snacks for her cat, Winston.
“We call him Winnie. He’s awesome but he has a weight problem,” she said.
The teen perused the options at the Pet Wants booth before finding the perfect treat for her hefty furry friend.
“We got him some freeze-dried chicken hearts, and I really hope he loves them,” she said. “We just won’t tell him what they are.”
