Find Last-Minute Local Gifts Wednesday At Coquina Beach Market

BRADENTON BEACH, FL — As the holiday shopping season winds down, last-minute shoppers have “one last chance to shop local” at the Beach Market at Coquina Beach, said Nancy Ambrose, the market’s founder and manager.

The outdoor market, which operates at Coquina Beach at 2650 Gulf Drive South in Bradenton Beach, will open one last time before Christmas Day. It’s currently running every Sunday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through July.

There are more than 100 vendors at each market, where shoppers can find “something for everyone,” Ambrose said. “There’s all kinds of things.”

Many local artists – painters, woodworkers, metal artists, jewelers and more – sell their unique creative works. There are also other goods available, such as apparel, sandals, baked goods, sunglasses, fishing poles, and health and beauty products, she said. There’s even a woman who embroiders pet names onto bandanas.

Ambrose founded the Beach Market at Coquina Key more than eight years ago. Before that, she operated a market on Bridge Street and another at Gulf Drive Café.

As successful as the Gulf Drive Café market was, the city of Bradenton Beach put a stop to it when a pedestrian in a crosswalk was hit by a car and died, Ambrose said. Though the death didn’t occur when the market was happening, city officials grew concerned about the safety of large events in the area.

With the cancellation of that market, many local vendors were out of work, though.

“For many of them, this is their sole income,” Ambrose said.

So, she approached Manatee County officials about hosting a weekly outdoor market at Coquina Beach. They agreed, and more than eight years later, the event has grown significantly, she said. Visitors come from throughout the region to shop there and it’s become a destination for vacation-goers, as well.

“People come from all over. It’s great for the vendors, and it’s good for the county and the community, too,” she said. “It started out as a very small market and kept growing. People loved it so much.”

A few years ago, Ambrose added the Wednesday market to the schedule. This tends to be more laidback than the weekend market and “very popular with the locals,” she said. “They don’t have to fight the traffic on Sunday and it’s not as crowded.”

She’s recently worked with the county to tweak the market’s schedule. After July 2021, the Wednesday market will operate from December to July and the Sunday market will move to Fridays, running April to July.

The Beach Market’s vendors have been hurting since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Ambrose said. The market closed from mid-March through mid-June, putting them out of work.

“That’s the height of the season when they make most of their money,” she said. “And they didn’t get aid from anybody because they’re 1099 people. It was horrible for many of the vendors.”

Both shoppers and vendors were excited for the market to reopen in June, she added. “It’s outdoors, so people felt safe coming out, and the vendors are all friends. They work together, help each other, go on vacations together. They were so excited to see each other.”

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Bradenton newsletters and real-time email alerts.

They were so excited she kept having to remind them not to hug each other as COVID-19 was still spreading throughout the state, she said.

The market follows all safety precautions, Ambrose said. The booths are spaced apart and social distancing is encouraged. All vendors wear masks and shoppers are asked to wear them, as well. And hand sanitizer is available for anyone who needs it.

Despite everything they went through this year, her vendors are starting to feel hopeful. She recalled a recent conversation with one vendor, who told her he would be “out of the hole” by the end of December,” finally able to pay off bills.

“He sees a future now. He sees the light at the end of the tunnel,” Ambrose said. “I think they’re all looking forward to 2021.”