Central Farm Markets
During the stay-at-home order, when it was often hard to secure a time slot with the popular grocery delivery services, Central Farm Markets found a new niche. “For years, patrons have asked, ‘Why don’t you do home delivery?’ ” says Debbie Moser, co-founder of the markets, as well as a partner in MeatCrafters, a Landover sausage and charcuterie company. “I didn’t need a third business. And then COVID hit.” Moser and her staff teamed up with Geppetto Catering, which had trucks, drivers and back-end expertise, and in late March started delivering the wonderful fresh fish, meat, produce, dairy products, artisan baked goods and small batch items sold at the Bethesda Central Farm Market. In July, after Geppetto went out of business, the market partnered with ProFish, a seafood wholesaler—and one of the vendors at Central Farm Markets’ Pike Central location—to handle the deliveries. All the while, the three Central Farm Markets locations (Bethesda, Pike and NOVA) remained open throughout the pandemic, offering curbside pickup and preordering. As for the delivery service, which is slated to continue through the winter, “I can’t tell you the amount of calls we get thanking us for doing this,” Moser says. “It lifts our spirits all the time.”
