Cottin's Hardware Farmer's Market

This is a local gem of a store. There are a number of reasons why I love Cottin's and the physical store is only one of them. Cottin's may be associated with Ace Hardware but they are as local as you can get.There was a tornado in the area recently. The tornado happened around 7:00 pm and there was devastation in many neighborhoods. Cottin's announced they would re-open the store and stay open as long as needed so everyone could get what they needed that night. Totally unbelievable that a store would do that and it created a huge impact on me.Cottin's also serves as a drop off center for used cell phones to be donated to the local domestic violence shelter. The cell phones are given to victims of domestic violence so they will be able to communicate in an emergency. What a wonderful thing for Cottin's to do in collecting the phones. Before this drop off point, I had to drive to the outskirts of town during business hours to make my donation. I love a store giving back.The store has plenty of local flavor. The parking lot even serves as the farmers market during the week. The quaintness of the store is noticed everywhere inside, too. The displays were creative and they are customer service oriented. Prices are competitive, too. The only downside to this lovely store is the door is accessed on the side of the building and you have to park in a back parking lot. There is ample parking room but you have to snake through a neighborhood to get to the parking access. There is no store front access, everything is accessed through the rear. Just a minor intrusion and not a game changer by any means. Local flavor, great service, good prices and great philanthropy... awesome store!

There are several Farmer's Market locations in Lawrence and have been for many years, but Cottin's has always been my favorite. Cottin's is a fourth the size of the big Saturday morning market, but it excels for several reasons.First, the downtown market (if you talk to the vendors) is rife with minor infighting, rules enforcement and headaches for some of the vendors. That with the big crowds and you get a lot of grumpy people selling their products. None of that here. The family that runs the hardware store is always present and has a great attitude--and it shows in the vendors and the people that show up every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. with a closing time of 6:30 p.m.And what's this? The Free State Brewery has a booth so it's part happy hour, part social gathering, part simply a good time. Oh, and the music is scheduled months in advance and rotates so you don't have to suffer some of the awful stuff that frequents the downtown market ad nauseam every week. I even prefer most of the vendors here and it's a delightful mix of interesting small businesses, few of which frequent the downtown market.Always something cooking as well so a good place to grab an early dinner, have a beer, chat with some friends and just enjoy the afternoon. This is really what a Farmer's Market should be in my opinion and why I'll keep coming back as long as it's here.