TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A local market is giving small businesses a voice and bringing the community together after the pandemic.
Southwood Street Market was started earlier this year as a new market in Tallahassee on Sundays.
Business Operation Manager for the Southwood Town Center Trae Hackett said there are currently 41 vendors.
"It's a place where the community can come and they can meet some of the great entrepreneurs we have out here."
One of the reasons Hackett helped create the market was to also have local businesses work together to sell their products.
You can see that with Brascomb's Meats and Marie's Jelly.
Owners of Brascomb's Meats Darwin and Candace Brascomb said it's the support system of the market and other businesses that have made them grow.
"What I love about it is that it brings together so many demographics, and what are you doing that could maybe pair up and match up with what I'm doing to make sure we all succeed."
They sell specialty sausage and opened up in February of 2021.
The idea came from a company Darwin's dad had called Jeans Meats that started in the 1960s. His dad had to close down the shop because Darwin got cancer and needed money for treatment.
In the last yard, Brascomb wanted to pay tribute to his dad, which is why he started his business.
"We want to continue the legacy. Not only his legacy, but our family's legacy," Darwin Brascomb said.
Marie's Jelly is owned by Rose and Tracy Garrison.
They make homemade can goods like salsa and jams. Rose Garrison said she's been canning items for over 30 years, with fresh produce in her back yard.
In 2014, she started selling her products at farmer's markets and has been able to witness the community really coming together.
"We all want to be successful," Rose Garrison said. "It's not just about Marie's jelly selling all her jelly, but I want to make sure and help others out to be successful."
Brascomb Meats and Marie's Jelly set up their tables next to each other at the Southwood Market.
The pair advertise a sausage jelly breakfast sandwich as a way to use their products together.
They're not the only two businesses that have seen the outpour of love from this community.
Owner of Macarons by Amanda Amanda Howe said she opened her business back in the spring of 2021 and sold out of product at her first market.
"It's a community I never thought I needed," Howe said.
She said it was being able to spend her weekend mornings face to face with the community and other businesses that really helped her grow.
She said she owes the take-off of her community to Tallahassee.
Hackett said there are a lot of vendors on the waitlist, so they're hoping to continue to expand to fill up the street.
The market is held by the Southwood Town center every 2nd and 4th Sunday.
