Mark’s Score 8.8
How Sweet it is is somewhat of an institution in the Salisbury area, which is surprising, given its inauspicious start. Brent Malone opened How Sweet it Is over 30 years ago as a project to give himself something to do over a summer holiday. Today it is a local behemoth with its own 150-acre (61 hectares) farm, ten greenhouses, a nursery, a garden center, a stone masonry, and the farmers market itself.
As for the farmers market, in addition to selling locally grown produce, they also produce their own preserves, and sell local honey, baked goods, candy, wine, and beer. This is the eastern shore, so they also sell locally sourced seafood, beef, pork, and chicken.
I became familiar with How Sweet it Is trough Bordeleau Winery. They sell Bordeleau wines and occasionally I conduct wine tastings for Bordeleau at How Sweet it Is. I wasn’t aware of how extensive their operation is, until I started wondering around the store after my wine tastings. I think one of the downsides to living in Salisbury is that we are poorly served by the major supermarket chains. I had resigned myself to buying old produce, tough meats, and dubious fish. Then I discovered How Sweet it Is.
I started out small, I would buy a few vegetables after my wine tastings. As time passed, I started buying the beef, chicken, pork, and seafood. I don’t often buy their baked goods, I make my own, but I have tried their breads. I wouldn’t rate them the best I have eaten, but they are certainly better than what the supermarkets offer. As time passed, I found that I was doing more and more of my shopping at How Sweet it Is. One night when I was busy, I discovered they made their own egg, chicken, and tuna salads. I bought the chicken salad, fixings for a green salad, and then I noticed they produced their own salad dressing. I bought a bottle of their lemon herb dressing, and I never bought a supermarket salad dressing since.
Come spring, I always buy my flowers and plants for my herb garden at How Sweet it Is. When I had to replace some dead trees in my garden, once again I went to How Sweet it Is. It truly has become my go to shopping place for food, save dry goods and dairy. Let us be honest, it is not cheap, food at How Sweet it Is is considerably more expensive than the industrially produced food at the supermarket. But buying fresh from a local market reminds me of my European days. It is also far healthier and it also affords the additional opportunity of supporting local businesses (instead of big corporations). I am more than happy to pay a bit more to eat better, and support the local community.
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