A.M. Sunday on Little Rock's Main Street

Bernice Garden Farmers Market, 1401 S. Main St.

Little Rock has a great farmers market on Saturday and Tuesday mornings at this time of year in the  River Market, and Sunday mornings has another much smaller one several blocks away on Main Street just south of Interstate 630. That's where the Jenny and I went early this morning.

In case you forget:
this is Arkansas.

When I say the Bernice Garden Farmers Market, 1401 S. Main St., there is small, that doesn't mean inferior. That, I think, is actually the Main Street venue's major selling point. You won't be overwhelmed and exhausted. In just a minute or two,  a shopper can get a good idea of everything on offer at the six to 12 booths and vendors in the small, private park. A wood canopy provides some shade and a suspended fans move the air around when nature isn't. The Jenny and I found some excellent peaches, tomatoes, fresh basil, purple-hull peas and more. Don't get me wrong. We like the River Market's offerings, too. We've been there, and we'll be back, but if you're looking for something a little more laid back on a Sunday morning to do some shopping for fresh produce, then check Bernice Garden out.

Just down the street a bit, we stepped into the Green Corner Store, a home-grown retail establishment featuring all manner of Arkansas-made products, gifts and treats. Near the front entrance is an old, marble soda fountain. 

Some of the old-timey
soda fountain treats served
to order at the Green Corner Store. 

There, they serve Loblolly Ice Cream, shakes and egg creams. If you're a hard-core locovore, then you'll be pleased to know Loblolly is local. The store space the Green Corner occupies itself was home to a drug store for more than 50 years and until 1967. When it was a drug store, it had a soda fountain, too, but the one there isn't original. It came from Texas before spending 20 years at a west Little Rock drug store. One thing I really enjoyed was the pressed-tin ceiling, very nice. By 11 a.m., the Main Street already was heating up. Hey, it's July in Arkansas. Anyway, a couple of scoops of salted caramel ice cream was just what we needed. It was a great morale boost and quite a tasty one at that.

The Green Corner Store, 1423 S. Main St.

Looking South on Main
from the Bernice Garden

A brief note: Across the street from the Bernice Garden is The Root Cafe,  at 1500 S. Main. I don't have a wide enough experience of it yet to write a full review, but what I have experienced is positive, and The Jenny is a big fan of their food. The Eggs Benny was a good start to the day on an earlier visit to the Main Street neighborhood.

Rating: Bernice Garden Farmers Market — A

Bernice Garden Farmers Market, 1401 Main St.

Rating: The Green Corner Store soda fountain — A

The Green Corner Store, 1500 S. Main St.

An abundance of freshness at the farmer's market Sunday a.m.