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A rainy Saturday does little to quiet the Falls Church Farmers Market. Families and shoppers continue moving among the stalls as vendors turn the City Hall parking lot into a weekly hub for food, flowers, furniture and conversation.

Market manager Jennifer Brady said farmers markets help feed communities, bring neighbors together and support small businesses and farms. Keeping money circulating locally is central to that mission.

Brady gives priority to returning vendors because many depend on consistent market income. New businesses are added as space becomes available, particularly when they offer something different from the products already sold.

Here are five vendors helping draw shoppers to the market each week.

Pho from Home

Pho from Home specializes in frozen take-home pho made with several broths and meats. Its menu also includes Vietnamese turkey curry, scallion pancakes, spring rolls and bottled Vietnamese coffee.

Owner Khai Nguyen launched the business to offer convenient, affordable pho without sacrificing homemade quality. He also aims to address food insecurity by serving nutritious meals made with ingredients from farms that raise animals humanely and sustainably.

Employee Van Ngo said beef brisket and meatball pho are the most popular choices, while the vegan pho deserves more attention.

Pho from Home has returned to the Falls Church market every Saturday for three years. Ngo said the market’s variety and opportunities for customers to connect directly with vendors make it valuable to local businesses.

Shenandoah Seasonal

Ali and Dan Haney founded Shenandoah Seasonal, an organic vegetable farm in Clear Brook, Virginia, in 2012. Their earlier nonprofit work at a center serving impoverished families in Cambodia helped inspire them to grow fresh, locally produced food.

The Haneys initially considered raising livestock before shifting their focus to vegetables. Shenandoah Seasonal is one of the market’s few organic vendors and also sells in Reston, Leesburg and Dupont Circle.

The farm uses efficient, environmentally conscious methods, including high-tunnel greenhouses that protect crops through the winter. It grows more than 100 varieties of specialty vegetables, including bok choy, broccoli and unusual peppers and tomatoes that shoppers may not find in grocery stores.

Manager Ben Paulson said small farms are an important part of the food system, a role highlighted by the agricultural disruptions of the pandemic. But those farms lack economies of scale and face obstacles such as high startup and land costs, along with mental-health pressures.

The Falls Church market has helped the farm expand its customer network. Many shoppers have joined its community-supported agriculture program to receive regular produce deliveries.

Little City Bagels

Jeff Skalka began making bagels at home after moving from Manhattan and struggling to find the quality he wanted in Falls Church. When a friend asked whether they were for sale, a business began to take shape.

Little City Bagels has sold exclusively at the farmers market every Saturday since January. Skalka is using the stall to measure local demand before deciding whether to open a retail shop, and the early results have been strong: The business has sold out each week.

Its selection ranges from poppy seed to onion bagels, with everything bagels leading sales. Skalka considers the salt bagel the most overlooked option. The stand also carries flavored cream cheeses, including cinnamon raisin and hot honey.

Skalka said the market reflects the community spirit of Falls Church. Customers want to support his business, while he wants to provide something residents genuinely want.

Bees Wing Farm

Bees Wing Farm in White Post, Virginia, grows flowers using gentle, environmentally friendly practices. Owners Chelsea Belle and Chris Griffin recently moved to a larger farm to meet demand, supported in part by a steady Falls Church customer base.

The business also sells at the Dupont market and provides flowers for weddings.

Anna Osowski, who helps run the operation, said local support keeps sustainable, healthy products available. She described the farm as a family enterprise rooted in the area and committed to treating both the land and the community with care.

Some customers spend about $10 each week, while others leave carrying armfuls of flowers. Osowski said both regular shoppers and first-time visitors are meaningful to the farm.

Dick Doyle Furniture

Dick Doyle, affectionately known as “Dick the Mick” because of his Irish heritage, sells tables and benches crafted from storm-fallen trees. Every dollar raised goes to Homestretch, a Falls Church-based organization that helps Virginia families facing homelessness secure safe housing and financial independence.

The woodworking effort began through a friend on Virginia’s Northern Neck who repaired discarded items and gave them to people who needed them. About 15 years ago, the venture shifted toward transforming fallen trees into handmade furniture.

Doyle said the market makes Falls Church come alive on Saturdays and gives local enterprises a place to reach customers. For him, conversations and laughter with visitors can make the day worthwhile even when he sells nothing.

His chief motivation remains Homestretch. Doyle agreed that because nature supplied the wood, he would never personally profit from it.

The Falls Church Farmers Market is held every Saturday in the City Hall parking lot at 300 Park Ave. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon from April through December and 9 a.m. to noon from January through March.