Lake Front Market returns to Huron

HURON — A relatively new Huron tradition made its long-awaited return on Saturday, and the conditions were perfect for a comeback. Lake Front Market — an annual event put on by the Huron Chamber of Commerce which features booths set up by local vendors, food trucks, live music, activities for children and views of Lake Erie — returned for the first time since the start of COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the event is to bring out support for local small businesses. The weather was perfect, the event was sprawling with potential customers and the vendors were ready to sell. "The primary thing is that we want to promote small business. We feel like we can call this (Lake Front Market) an incubator for small businesses," Huron Chamber of Commerce Director Amy Roldan said. "You have small businesses that have been here for the last four years that now have a storefront and now they're selling on a regular basis, and we love to see that." Although the market was smaller this year, due to restrictions recommended by the Erie County Health Department, there was still a significant number of new and returning vendors at the event. Event vendors were selling a variety of products, like candles, clothing, jewelry and home goods. Many returning vendors happily made a re-appearance, like Lake Erie Dogs, a business that specializes in nutrition and training for dogs. Lake Erie Dogs is run by Kay Schuh and Tom Puliafico. Schuh and Puliafico are dog trainers and work with dogs and families around the Sandusky area, Schuh also makes and sells dog treats. Schuh was thrilled to be back at the event. "It's nice to be part of the community again," Schuh said. "It's a fun feeling … It's just nice to see people in person again, and the market is exploding. It is a perfect day for it." Another Lake Front Market staple is Nancy Burkett, better known as The Plymouth Cheesecake Lady. Burkett makes and sells cheesecakes with her brother and sister-in-law, Kevin and Joy Ritchie. Burkett has been coming to the market since 2018 — all the way from Plymouth, Ohio. Lake Front Market has been financially beneficial for The Plymouth Cheesecake Lady food truck. Word of mouth advertising and getting the food truck's name out there greatly helped the truck; however, Burkett comes back each year because she loves the community and the market. "This is one of the events that I just love, because not only is the view beautiful, but the people are very nice," Burkett said. "We've never had any issues with anybody, and we've had repeat customers from two years ago. "We love this place, and I don't have any problems coming back each year," she said. Rallying behind and showing up for small businesses was on the minds of visitors to the market, as well. Meredith Brownell, a Huron local, came out to celebrate her son's birthday, while supporting the community. "(We came out to) shop around and support local businesses, a lot of my friends have their little shops out here," Brownell said. "So, we just wanted to come out and help them out." Soon, there will be other opportunities for local businesses to get their names out there and sell products in Huron. One example is the local Thursday Farmers Market, which was recently taken over by the Chamber of Commerce. "Our goal as a chamber is, we would love for our town in the summer to be a Thursday through Sunday town … So, if we can bring people here for this great Farmers Market on Thursdays, then we've got concerts going on Sunday night, people are not leaving until Monday," Roldan said. "That's more people not just doing the two days but doing four days. That's always our goal, getting more people here and supporting our businesses."