For most of its run, the Nutley Farmers Market lived behind things. It set up in Municipal Lot 7 on Franklin Avenue, tucked behind Bella Luce, and in earlier years it operated out of the lot near the former Ciccolini Brothers site. You could find it if you knew to look. Most people who weren't already regulars didn't.
In 2025, the market moved to Booth Drive, out in the open between Nutley High School and the Oval. Attendance climbed enough that the Township of Nutley called it the market's most successful season to date. That's a strange thing for a farmers market to say about itself after 16 seasons of doing roughly the same thing in the same town. The produce didn't change. Most of the vendors didn't change. What changed was the address, and specifically, how visible that address is to someone who wasn't planning to stop.
That's worth understanding on its own terms. A weekly market that struggled to build a crowd for over a decade and then suddenly works once it's on a street people already walk down tells you the appetite for a downtown gathering spot was there the whole time. Nutley just hadn't put the market where people could stumble into it.
What Actually Moved, and Why It Mattered
Commissioner Joseph Scarpelli, who sponsors the market through the Greenutley Committee, didn't credit better weather or a bigger vendor lineup for the 2025 turnaround. He credited the location. In the township's own wrap-up of the season, he said "People appreciated the scenic setting and easier access, which directly contributed to increased attendance and success for our vendors." That's a specific causal claim from the person who runs the thing, not a marketing line from a chamber of commerce brochure.
Here's what the move actually looked like on the ground:
| Old Franklin Avenue lots | Booth Drive (2025–present) | |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility from the sidewalk | Set behind buildings, easy to walk past without noticing | Open-air, runs along the street itself |
| Nearest landmark | Behind Bella Luce or the former Ciccolini's site | Between Nutley High School and the Oval |
| Parking | Shared the same lot as the market | Nutley High School lot off Vincent Place, plus street parking along Franklin Avenue |
| Season result | Steady but unremarkable | Called the market's best season yet by the Township |
The 2026 season runs Sundays from June 14 through October 25, 9am to 2pm, its second full season in the new spot. If last year is any indication, this is the version of the market that sticks.
The Same People Have Been Running This Since 2009
Part of what makes the Booth Drive move interesting is that almost nothing else changed. The market has been a Nutley tradition since 2009, and the leadership hasn't rotated the way a lot of small-town institutions do. Commissioner Scarpelli still sponsors it. Sal Scarpelli and Meredith Blank still co-manage vendor and entertainment bookings, the same roles they've held for years. Live music still runs 10am to 1pm most Sundays, with opening day 2026 bringing in Cabaret 4 A Cure as the season's first musical guest.
That continuity matters more than it sounds like it should. A market that reinvents its format every season is usually one that's still trying to find an audience. A market that keeps the same organizers, the same weekly rhythm, and the same food pantry partnerships year after year, then finally gets a crowd once it's physically easier to reach, is telling you the format was never the problem.
Who's Actually Setting Up Tables
The vendor mix leans toward names you'd only recognize if you'd already been shopping there. The township's most recently published Nutley Farmers Market vendor roster, for its 2026 winter market, featured Asprocolas Acres, BAKER.nj, Cozz Coffee, Crystals in Copper, Empanada Lady, Hidden Valley Farms, Katie's Korner, Neshanic Valley Beekeepers, Pickles Olives Etc., Rogowski Farms, Rose and Ruth's, and Treelicious Orchards. Pickles Olives Etc. and Somers 27 Soap Co. have turned up across both the winter market and the Sunday season for years, the kind of repeat presence that makes a market feel like a fixture rather than a rotating pop-up. The market also runs a featured vendor program that brings newer businesses in on selected dates rather than locking the roster in place for the whole season, so the lineup on Booth Drive shifts a little week to week even with a core group staying consistent.
Two Things Worth Building a Sunday Around
Most farmers markets are just produce and a few food trucks. This one has two recurring events that turn it into more of a habit than an errand.
The Market Walk & Talk. A roughly three-mile scenic walk through Nutley, led by a rotating guest from fields like health, fitness, government, or the arts, that happens before the shopping starts. It's less a fitness class and more a chance to spend half an hour talking to a neighbor you'd otherwise only wave at.
The Peach Party and Perfect Peach Pie Baking Contest. Tied to August's Jersey Fresh Peach Month, this is the market's one true annual event, with judges tasting amateur entries and a winner sometimes advancing to a regional round through the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council. The exact August date shifts year to year, it's landed anywhere from the 3rd to the 11th in past seasons, so the safest move is following the market's Instagram or Facebook for this year's confirmation rather than assuming a fixed date. In past years, nearby restaurants including Luna Wood Fire Tavern have run peach-themed specials the same month, part of a broader downtown food scene we mapped in our Franklin Avenue food walk.
The Practical Details
If you're building this into a weekly routine rather than a one-time visit, here's what actually matters:
- Season: Sundays, June 14 through October 25, 2026
- Hours: 9am to 2pm, with live music from 10am to 1pm
- Location: Booth Drive, downtown Nutley, between the high school and the Oval
- Parking: Free in the Nutley High School lot off Vincent Place, or on-street along Franklin Avenue
- Weekly donation drop: Fresh produce and non-perishables go to the Nutley Family Service Bureau Food Pantry, and pet food goes to the Fur Pet's Sake Pet Pantry, a program started by Somers 27 Soap Co. proprietor Braden Somers
- Senior assistance: The Township partners with Essex County's Department of Health & Senior Services on the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program for income-eligible seniors, administered through Meredith Blank at the Department of Public Affairs
None of this requires planning ahead. You show up, you park in the same lot as everyone else, and the market does the rest.
Why This Is Worth Knowing At All
A market moving a few blocks and getting called its best season ever isn't a headline anywhere outside Nutley. But it's a useful data point about how this particular town treats its own public space. The demand for a Sunday gathering spot didn't need to be created. It needed a location that let people find it without trying. That's a small thing, and it's also exactly the kind of detail that tells you more about a town's day-to-day texture than a walkability score ever could.
If you're curious what else makes Nutley function the way it does, from its downtown corridor to its parks and its housing stock, Jessica Munoz spends her weeks in these neighborhoods and is always happy to talk through what a place is actually like to live in, market day included. You can also browse more of what we've covered about the town on our Nutley neighborhood page.
