At the Uptown Farmers Market, every Saturday is in Season: Jan Johnson has turned the Uptown Farmers Market into a Saturday morning institution
By Taylor Bowler
At 6:30 on Saturday mornings, most of Uptown is still asleep. But in the 4.5-acre parking lot in front of First Baptist Charlotte on South Davidson Street, there’s already a buzz in the air.
Pickup trucks roll in. Folding tents open. Farmers and vendors display stacks of sourdough, crates of greens, bouquets of flowers, and jars of honey with handwritten labels. At 8 a.m., the bell rings. And just like that, the Uptown Farmers Market is open.
What began in the early months of Covid with just 20 vendors has grown into something much bigger: a Saturday morning institution with 68 vendors, hundreds of weekly visitors, and a rhythm that now feels essential to Uptown.
At the center of it all is Jan Johnson, who, alongside Marvette Monroe and Gloria Medlock (“my two compadres”), built the beloved market with zero experience in agriculture. What they lacked in experience, they made up for in their desire to help local farmers, tackle food insecurity, and create a place for people to shop and socialize.
Their idea landed. The church leased them the parking lot for $1. CATS offered a shuttle service to transport seniors in assisted living facilities to the market. The City of Charlotte and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council commissioned artist Curtis King to paint a two-story mural on the side of the church to capture the market’s mission. By 2024, Southern Living named Uptown Farmers Market one of the 17 best in the South.
Today, visitors linger around café tables scattered across the parking lot. They shop for fresh seafood with Enderly Coffee in hand while kids visit the tent dubbed “Radish Roots Corner” to see cooking demos and learn where their food comes from. Live musicians arrive mid-morning and play sets between 10 a.m. and noon, turning a simple errand into something closer to a street festival. More than 50 volunteers help keep it all moving.
“It’s amazing how a pop-up can take on a whole personality,” Jan says. “It becomes its own world.”
Sourdough and farm-fresh eggs are usually the first to sell out. Last week, both were gone by 9:30 a.m. Cinnamon rolls disappear almost as quickly, which is heartbreaking if you arrive late.
Honey, Jan says, is the most Charlotte-specific product. (“A lot of people swear by it for allergies.”)
Beneath the rush of eager shoppers is something even more intentional: a system designed not just to sell food, but to deliver it to people in need. Last year, Uptown Farmers Market donated 5.2 tons of produce to Nourish Up (formerly Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays), a nonprofit fighting food insecurity in Mecklenburg County. The market also accepts SNAP benefits and matches $50 cards with another $50. On the third week of every month, that match triples.
“One day, I was chatting with a few women who ride our senior shuttle,” Jan recalls. “They were buying eggplant, and I was saying, ‘You must have a great recipe.’ They said they were done with their own shopping—they were using their SNAP tokens to buy food to donate to the Community Table. I was so touched. They were on a SNAP budget, and there they were still sharing with others who needed it.”
The market’s impact shows up in entrepreneurial ways, too. A soup vendor who started here now sells its products in Fresh Market. A gourmet cookie maker opened a storefront in Latta Arcade. Thoughtful Baking Co. just announced its own brick-and-mortar space. Jan calls the market “an incubator for small business.”
“It’s a different way to shop,” she says. “But once you come and make those connections, it’s a warm, embracing community. And it gives you access to all these fabulous farm foods, sauces, fish, flower bouquets… it’s just a real treat.”
By 12:30, the bell rings again. And just like that, the market is done.
Tents fold back into trucks. Crates are stacked. The parking lot slowly empties.
Until next Saturday, when they all show up again.
Check out the Uptown Farmers Market at 300 S Davidson Street. Shoppers can enjoy the convenience of free parking while exploring a variety of fresh, locally sourced goods!