The Farmers Market Moves Back Onto Third Street This Saturday, and Old Naples' Season Starts With It

Since spring, the Third Street South Farmers Market has been held in the parking lot behind Tommy Bahama, where it moves for the warmer months. On Saturday, November 7, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., it returns to 3rd Street South itself and sets up directly on the street between Broad Avenue and 13th Avenue South for the winter season.

Saturday's move matters more than most season openers. The Third Street South Association's announcement calls it "the start of the Winter Farmers Market Season." It also marks when the district's shopping blocks start working as a gathering place. Over the next eight weeks, the same stretch hosts a tree lighting with the street closed to traffic, artificial snowfall several nights a week, Santa mailboxes and a pet photo afternoon. All of it happens within a few steps of where the produce tables stand on Saturday mornings.

The Lot Was the Off-Season Version

The market's year has two settings. The Third Street South Association's market page describes a street season running roughly November through May and a lot season behind Tommy Bahama running roughly April through October, with the changeover in spring. This year's dates show where that switch fell. The City of Naples calendar listed the street market through April 25, 2026, and by May 9 the Association's listing had moved it to the Tommy Bahama lot.

The market began in 1994. The Association says it has grown to more than 60 independent vendors and admits no national chains or franchises. The Association runs it, and the page says plainly that this is not a City of Naples event. The vendor mix covers produce, cut flowers and live plants, seafood, artisan pasta, baked goods, prepared foods, jams and relishes, fresh-roasted coffee and dog treats.

What changes on November 7 is the setting. In the summer lot, the market sits behind the storefronts. In winter it sits between them, with stalls along the same sidewalks as the boutiques and restaurant patios. The Association's announcement invites shoppers to bring friends, family and "pet friends" and make a morning of it.

The Vendors Who Kept It Going Through Summer

The Association's published roster is labeled "2026 Summer Market Vendors." It lists the vendors who stayed with the market in the lot during the slower months. The winter lineup may differ, so these names are a starting point for Saturday.

Growers and flowers

• Inyoni Farms: a local certified organic farm selling vegetables, greens, sprouts, fruits, herbs and flowers
• Mondragon Farms: locally grown organic produce
• Care2Grow: locally grown mushrooms
• Gulfcoast Greens: organic microgreens and hydroponics
• Friendly Burds: local tropical fruit, dried fruit and honey
• Dominga's Flowers: fresh-cut flowers and plants

Bakers and coffee

• Neapolitan Bake Shop: cronuts in rotating flavors and a few other sweet pastries
• Tony's off Third: homemade scones, pastries and coffee
• Bella's Cakes: butter and almond cookies, madeleine cakes and specialty coffee drinks
• Jimmy's Java: hot and cold-brewed coffee and coffee beans

Cooked to order or ready to take home

• Fire & Rice: paella made in front of you
• Moonfire BBQ: ribs, brisket and pulled pork by the pound, plus weekly sandwiches and sides
• King of Conch Salads: conch salads made to order
• Casa De Loro: rustic Argentinian street food
• Chef Sebastian Mazzotta: crab cakes, desserts and chef-prepared meals to go
• Stamper Cheese: Wisconsin-made cheeses
• Anita's Guacamole: fresh guacamole, salsa and chips

The roster leans heavily toward food you can eat on the spot. On a street with storefronts on both sides, that makes it easier to turn the market into a morning that runs past 11:30.

The Storefronts Around the Stalls Have Their Own News

Two businesses on Third Street South begin this season with something new.

Sea Salt reopened in late October. Naples Daily News reported on Oct. 26 that the restaurant had closed over the summer to redo its interior and overall guest experience. It came back with new furnishings, an artistic centerpiece and what the paper described as an evolved culinary concept, all in place before the season. Sea Salt also anchors the district's holiday plans. One of the two Santa mailboxes, "Santa's Workshop," is near the restaurant, and Santa Paws takes place near it in December.

Books on Third is starting its second winter. The independent book and gift store is at 1300 3rd Street South, Suite 201, in the Balcony Boutiques on the mezzanine level. In July, Naples Daily News profiled founders Lindsay Smith and Shan O'Fee-Byrom when the shop was halfway through its first offseason. Its events have already filled the week of the market's return. The district calendar lists author evenings with Madeline Martin, for her novel A Time of Witches, and Brisa Carleton, for a launch of Just Her Holiday Type with a holiday hot chocolate bar, this Thursday and Friday, just before the market moves back.

Same Blocks, After Dark: The Calendar Through December

Saturday's market brings people back to the street in the morning. The holiday program brings them back in the evening. Third Street South calls this year's version the 49th annual Christmas on Third, part of a broader "North Pole on Third" festival that starts Thanksgiving week.

The new event this year is the North Pole Delivery District. Children pick up an official Letter to Santa at participating shops and drop it in one of two mailboxes, one at Fleischmann Plaza near Gattle's and the other at Santa's Workshop near Sea Salt. The Christmas on Third page says one child will receive a special surprise delivered "in true North Pole style."

At Santa Paws, leashed dogs and other "furry, feathered, or four-legged friends" can pose for photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, with the PawTographers taking the pictures.

From December on, the schedule lines up so that the snowfall nights end on Saturday, the same day the market fills the street that morning. Visitors who arrive for coffee and produce on a December Saturday and return for the 7 p.m. snow will be standing on the same pavement both times.

Getting There on a Market Morning

The market itself takes over 3rd Street South between Broad and 13th Avenue South. Nearby options include the public garages that serve the Fifth Avenue South district, with entrances on 8th Street South at 6th Avenue and on 8th Street South at 4th Avenue, as well as a public lot on Park Street at 6th Avenue South. From there it is a short walk south along Old Naples' grid to the market.

Our family has watched Third Street South change over four generations, and Saturday mornings on the street are still one of our favorite parts of the Naples season. If you would like to know more about what is happening in Old Naples this winter, whether it's a new restaurant or how the district feels on a December evening, the team at Owens Jablonski | Gulf Coast Advisors is happy to talk about it. Request a Concierge Consultation, and we will share what we know about the blocks between Broad and 13th.