Bethesda Central Farm Market

When longtime food business pros Mitch Berliner and Ann Brody Cove started the Bethesda Central Farm Market in 2008, their first goal was to create a market where people could buy most, if not all, of their weekly groceries. Secondly, they wanted to attract farmers and vendors with the highest quality goods. And they sought to make the market community-oriented, with activities for children, entertainment, wine tastings, cooking workshops and green events.

By all indications, they’ve met those goals. This is the second year in a row that Bethesda Magazine readers have selected the farm market as the area’s best.

Despite the market’s move to Bethesda Elementary School in April 2012 due to construction near its former Elm Street site, nearly 50 vendors can pack the parking lot on a summer Sunday. Berliner doesn’t have a precise count on the number of market-goers, but says he sees familiar faces each week. This past summer, one regular told Berliner that she and her family ended their vacation on a Saturday so she could shop at the farm market on Sunday.

Open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays year-round, 7600 Arlington Blvd. at Old Georgetown Road (Bethesda Elementary School), Bethesda, centralfarmmarkets.com