After four weeks as a pandemic-era drive-thru, the Red Bank Farmer’s Market plans to resume walk-thru shopping Sunday, its operators announced Tuesday.
Dr. Pickle owner Josh Nadel at the market on its drive-thru debut May 17. (Photos by John T. Ward Click to enlarge.)
The market operates Sundays-only from May through October in the parking lot of the Galleria of Red Bank shopping-dining-and-office complex, located on West Front Street between Bridge and Shrewsbury avenues.
Since its seasonal debut on May 17 in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the market has operated as a drive-thru, with a limited number of vehicles allowed in at a time and shoppers remaining in their cars.
Starting Sunday, shoppers and vendors will again be able to stroll the wide aisles between farmstands in search of their favorite produce, flowers, condiments and baked goods, Galleria principal Ted Whitehouse told redbankgreen Tuesday.
The change reflects the gradual easing of restrictions on non-essential retail businesses that take effect Monday, and were worked out in consultation with borough officials and the police department, Whitehouse said.
All visitors to the site must be masked, and are asked to maintain social distancing, Whitehouse said. Pre-orders are encouraged but not required, he said.
A list of vendors accepting pre-orders can be found here.
The market is also back to its customary hours of 9 a.m, to 2 p.m., closing two hours later than over the first three weeks.
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