Maku'u Market Information? (Hilo: 2013, home, buy)

[JungleWahine]

I was wondering if there was any site with info on Maku'u Market or contact info? I found a blog for them but it has not been updated since December. A few friends and I were thinking about trying our luck with a booth.

I just had some general questions, if anyone else here knows something about it, info would be appreciated.

Do they have rules about what you sell similar to mall rules? Like, you cannot sell anything even remotely similar to what another vendor sells? (I'm not looking to step on any other vendor's toes. What I mean is, if a vendor is selling say, yellow hibiscus, would it be a conflict if you were selling white?)

A vendor I asked told me the booths were $25. Does the price vary by location in the market, or is it more a first come first served sort of deal?

Are there any hard and fast rules about what you can and cannot sell? When I first moved here, someone told me to look there for baby chickens. I have never seen anyone selling any chicks or even fresh eggs at the market.

Last but certainly not least, since I am doing this with friends, does your booth have to fall under one specific category? Since this will be "shared" that would be a problem. One of my friends wants to sell plants, one sews clothing and blankets,etc, and I am more the "crafter" who might also look to try to unload some fresh eggs when my fridge is overflowing. I realize that is a lot of different stuff for one booth, if we can at least make the cost of gas and the booth price and make a little bit of money we would probably try to get 2 booths next to each other in the future.

Mahalo in advance for any information!

[terracore]

Originally Posted by JungleWahine

I was wondering if there was any site with info on Maku'u Market or contact info? I found a blog for them but it has not been updated since December. A few friends and I were thinking about trying our luck with a booth.

I just had some general questions, if anyone else here knows something about it, info would be appreciated.

Do they have rules about what you sell similar to mall rules? Like, you cannot sell anything even remotely similar to what another vendor sells? (I'm not looking to step on any other vendor's toes. What I mean is, if a vendor is selling say, yellow hibiscus, would it be a conflict if you were selling white?)

A vendor I asked told me the booths were $25. Does the price vary by location in the market, or is it more a first come first served sort of deal?

Are there any hard and fast rules about what you can and cannot sell? When I first moved here, someone told me to look there for baby chickens. I have never seen anyone selling any chicks or even fresh eggs at the market.

Last but certainly not least, since I am doing this with friends, does your booth have to fall under one specific category? Since this will be "shared" that would be a problem. One of my friends wants to sell plants, one sews clothing and blankets,etc, and I am more the "crafter" who might also look to try to unload some fresh eggs when my fridge is overflowing. I realize that is a lot of different stuff for one booth, if we can at least make the cost of gas and the booth price and make a little bit of money we would probably try to get 2 booths next to each other in the future.

Mahalo in advance for any information!

I recommend posting your question on punaweb.org as there are several people there who routinely sell at the Maku'u market.

I've been told that it's a first-come-first served type of deal with people beginning to line up in the early morning hours and there is no specific category other than they try to keep the food vendors near the picnic tables. I've seen people selling the same stuff as other people. (That is kind of the point of the farmer's market- that it keeps the prices fair) People sell such a wide variety of stuff at the same booth, if there is any sort of attempt to limit categories it is not enforced.

I've seen people selling eggs there before, but I don't think they had an official booth. They camp out under an unused tarp if one is available or wander around with their coolers if not.

Have you considered trying at the farmer's market at the Hilo Coffee Mill? Last I checked they were actively recruiting vendors. It is also the only farmer's market I am aware of that doesn't have a prohibition on live animals.

[JungleWahine]

Originally Posted by terracore

Have you considered trying at the farmer's market at the Hilo Coffee Mill? Last I checked they were actively recruiting vendors. It is also the only farmer's market I am aware of that doesn't have a prohibition on live animals.

Thanks much for the Punaweb info. Last time I was at the Hilo Coffee Mill farmers market, they didn't have 1/6 of the traffic that Maku'u does. If I am going to give up a whole day, I need as many opportunities as I can get. The chicks wouldn't be an all the time thing, just like the eggs wouldn't. Having chickens, once in a while, you just get way too many of one or the other.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by JungleWahine

A vendor I asked told me the booths were $25. Does the price vary by location in the market, or is it more a first come first served sort of deal?

I'd say, next time you are there, ask a vendor where to find the manager, and ask them.

My impression is that the rules at that market are pretty simple... first come, first served on vendor space, cash in hand for the rent, and don't sell anything illegal. It's easy to see that many vendors are competing with similar items.

A few months ago there were some County Health Department visits at that market that upset a lot of food vendors, and eggs that were not "properly cooled" were a prime target, so be prepared.

[JungleWahine]

Originally Posted by OpenD

A few months ago there were some County Health Department visits at that market that upset a lot of food vendors, and eggs that were not "properly cooled" were a prime target, so be prepared.

LMAO @ properly cooled. How properly cool do they think it is under a chicken's butt I wonder? Not very seeing as we have to reach under the broodier ones to get the eggs. I know some folks are weird about it so I put the ones I am going to sell directly in the fridge. But I leave mine out on the counter on purpose for at least a day usually more, or else those buggers are hard to peel. (I have tried everything else, boiling in salt water, steaming, boiling then going straight into ice water, etc.) I know I could put them in the fridge and leave them for a month to make peeling easier, but yuck, who wants a month old egg?

Anyhoo, you are probably right about going and asking. Just trying to avoid going just for that as gas is so expensive and I don't go out that way too often.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by JungleWahine

How properly cool do they think it is under a chicken's butt I wonder?

I feel your pain. For years my grandfather sold his own chickens and eggs from his butcher shop, and there was no refrigeration of the eggs involved. They were out on the counter, and you could buy however many you wanted. And my grandmother had a wire rack on her pantry shelf to hold the eggs in her own kitchen, and she never tried to boil new eggs because they didn't peel well.

Nevertheless, despite any rational reason, the Dept of Health expects egg vendors to keep them in coolers.

[JungleWahine]

Well, I just found out the price goes up to between $40-$55 if you're going to sell food. I only charge $3 per dozen when I have extra eggs, so it's not even worth looking into. I'll just keep donating to Cooper Center, no biggie lol. I'd rather do that anyway, but money just keeps getting tighter and tighter. I'm going to go back up to the market on Sunday and see what else I can find out.
OpenD, any chance you remember how long your grandmother kept the eggs before peeling?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by JungleWahine

Well, I just found out the price goes up to between $40-$55 if you're going to sell food. I only charge $3 per dozen when I have extra eggs, so it's not even worth looking into. I'll just keep donating to Cooper Center, no biggie lol. I'd rather do that anyway, but money just keeps getting tighter and tighter. I'm going to go back up to the market on Sunday and see what else I can find out.

Well, what about the Cooper Center market on Sunday mornings? The tables there are a lot less expensive, and the vendors seem to do quite well... see their new vendor agreement... http://thecoopercenter.org/2013mayendor%201.pdf

As far as a price to charge for fresh local eggs, I think $3/dz is low. Take a good look around and see what others are charging. I happily pay a neighbor $5/dz for their fresh jumbo eggs from free-range layers. The subject was discussed recently on this local "simplicity" blog site, in which one person analysed that in Puna eggs cost about $6 a dozen to produce, due to the high price of feed. Sensible Simplicity Forum: Discussing Sustainability

OpenD, any chance you remember how long your grandmother kept the eggs before peeling?

For hard-boiled eggs she said they needed to be at least a week old to peel right. And she also would use her oldest eggs for baked goods. But she used fresh-laid for my grandfather's fried-egg breakfast, so fresh the whites were kind of milky looking. That disappears and the white becomes clear after a day or two.

Here's the science behind it, if you're interested. It has to do with the carbon dioxide level in the egg dropping over time, which makes the pH of the egg less acid, which allows the membrane to separate more easily. Peeling hardboiled eggs: Why are some eggs easier to peel than others? Blame carbon dioxide.

[terracore]

Originally Posted by JungleWahine

Well, I just found out the price goes up to between $40-$55 if you're going to sell food. I only charge $3 per dozen when I have extra eggs, so it's not even worth looking into. I'll just keep donating to Cooper Center, no biggie lol. I'd rather do that anyway, but money just keeps getting tighter and tighter. I'm going to go back up to the market on Sunday and see what else I can find out.
OpenD, any chance you remember how long your grandmother kept the eggs before peeling?

I think the price increase only applies to cooked food that is intended to be eaten at the market, not staple items that are taken home like eggs. If you think about it the market has to provide tables, garbage disposal, etc for the food merchants so it makes sense they would get charged more.

[JungleWahine]

@ OpenD, thanks for the links, informative one aren't ya? I knew that the peeling had something to do with the membrane seperating, but I did not know it was due to carbon dioxide. Funny, we were just beginning to experiment with mineral oil also to forgo the fridge all together. Maybe I should wait to do that also. I know the fresher eggs have a more milky looking white, but ours also have a much brighter yolk for the first 2 days which also goes away later. I think the brighter yolk tastes better, but it might be my imagination.
As far as pricing goes, $3 seems to cover the feed. Our chickens get a lot of extras so we don't use as much purchased food. They get vegetable and rice scraps from a local restaurant. Also, our eggs are not exactly jumbo, and mismatched colors lol. I have chickens that lay blue/green (Araucana), lots of white(Leghorns), and the browns are small to medium for now(Cuckoo Marans). Just got some Black Australorps, they are supposed to be more reliable, but will have medium eggs also I believe.
@Terracore, yes that makes sense. I'm guessing someone also pays for the live music. If I was cooking something, I wouldn't mind paying the extra seeing as the food booths always have lines even if nothing else seems to be selling. I'll find out Sunday =)