The decision was announced during the market’s annual vendor and stakeholder meeting Tuesday at the Best Western Plus.

The Broadway site, where the market launched nearly 30 years ago, offers high visibility along a major thoroughfare, abundant parking and an adjacent playground that organizers hope will attract more families with children.

“It’s back to our roots,” said Tim Gulden, a New Ulm Area Chamber of Commerce board member who also serves on the farmers market steering committee. “For those who have been in New Ulm long enough, this is actually where it started close to 30 years ago. It was a wonderful location, full parking lot. Visibility, parking, it had everything.”

Gulden provided a detailed history of the market’s venue changes. The market began at the former Runnings store site, which featured ample parking, high visibility and convenient amenities including a nearby Taco John’s and restrooms. When Runnings relocated, the market followed to preserve customer traffic and sales momentum tied to the store’s location. That pattern continued: strong sales at the subsequent Target site until the store closed, then a move to Hy-Vee, where parking congestion became a recurring complaint. 

Crystal Johnson, staff liaison for the New Ulm Farmers Market, points out the market’s returning 2026 site—the Riverbend Education District parking lot—on an aerial Google Maps view during the annual vendor meeting Tuesday night at the Best Western Plus.

After Hy-Vee, the market shifted to the Cash Wise parking lot, later experimented with German Street, and most recently operated in the A to Zinnia parking lot at 15 S. Broadway. Organizers said ongoing challenges with parking availability, traffic flow and limited space at those sites prompted the return to the Broadway location.

The New Ulm Area Chamber of Commerce assumed management three years ago when the market faced potential closure.

“The market was at risk of going away three years ago,” said Sarah Warmka, Chamber president. “Supporting agriculture and entrepreneurs too. We are certainly supportive of anyone starting. Anything handcrafted is allowed, but they’re all entrepreneurs.”

Warmka described the market as a vital incubator for small businesses in this agriculture-centered south-central Minnesota community. Vendors sell fresh produce, eggs, baked goods, canned goods, crafts and value-added products. The Chamber provides administrative support through staff liaison Crystal Johnson, who manages vendor applications, ST-19 tax forms, compliance paperwork and other requirements.

“Crystal’s our office manager, so she’s our staff liaison, that’s the direct support for the markets,” Warmka said. “She’s the one who does all the paperwork and gets it all updated.”

New vendor Alyssa Sernett, who plans to sell fresh-milled flour mixes at the 2026 New Ulm Farmers Market, poses with her daughter Natalie, during the annual vendor meeting Tuesday night at the Best Western Plus in New Ulm.

New vendor Alyssa Sernett, who moved to New Ulm from the Buffalo-Waverly area in July, plans to offer fresh-milled flour mixes using ancient grains such as einkorn, khorasan and spelt.

“I buy my own wheat berries and I have a mill at my house, and so I mill them fresh,” Sernett said. “A lot of people that have gluten sensitivities actually can handle the more ancient grains like einkorn or khorasan or spelt. Einkorn flour is the oldest of all wheats. It’s like the grandfather of where all wheats came from.”

Sernett explained that these ancient grains have a different gluten structure, often making them more digestible for those with sensitivities, and produce a soft, cake-like texture.

To raise professionalism and improve customer experience, vendors must now display a business sign at least 20 by 20 inches with their name clearly visible. Additional information such as contact details or a QR code is allowed, but the business name must remain prominent.

“We’ve had many conversations with customers who will say, ‘I bought this,’ and we ask who they bought it from and they don’t know,” Gulden said. “They know the face, they know the vehicle, they know the stand, but they don’t know who they’re actually dealing with. We want to make sure we have our information out there, it’s just good business practice.”

Vendors parking a vehicle in their selling space must purchase a minimum 20-foot space to avoid overcrowding. Gulden stressed strict compliance with Minnesota Department of Agriculture rules and IRS requirements, including proper labeling for cottage foods and accurate tax reporting.

“If you are marketing your product as organic, you need to have that certification stipulating that,” Gulden said. “It’s not just a buzzword you can throw around; it’s a legal term. Show me the paperwork or don’t say the word.”

In steering committee elections, Holly Covington, owner of Holly Jolly Acres and an agriculture teacher at New Ulm High School, was unanimously elected to a vendor seat for the 2026-2028 term, succeeding longtime member Lori Zollner.

Covington proposed partnering with 4-H and FFA youth to assist shoppers with mobility challenges by carrying purchases to vehicles.

“Our 4-H club … they need a community service project,” Covington said. “I think my girls could carry some stuff to the car. I feel like I’m going to tell our club about it on Sunday.”

The market will retain key community features, including SNAP/EBT acceptance through a dedicated machine and a loyalty punch card program for repeat shoppers. Live entertainment is planned for every market day, with monthly “Farm to Fun Days” from June through September featuring children’s activities such as face painting and chalk art. Organizers are also exploring free transportation partnerships with Herman Express and Heartland Express.

Vendors were encouraged to offer digital payment options to increase convenience and sales.

“We take Square and we take Venmo, and I get that question so much: Do you take a credit card?” said Lori Zollner of Sugar Shanty. “And when I say yes, I do, they’re like, ‘Okay. Well, then I want this, this, this and this.'”

Zollner, who conducts weekly radio call-ins on KNUJ to promote vendors and specials, expressed hope for reviving the communal spirit seen at earlier venues.

“When we were out at Cash Wise, nobody left until everything was cleaned up, and it felt really family oriented,”Zollner said. “It would be really nice if we kind of got back to the Cash Wise side of things.”

The 2026 season opens Thursday, June 11, at the Riverbend Education District parking lot, 1315 S. Broadway St., New Ulm.

Hours are Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (through Aug. 27) and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon (through Oct. 10). Thursday markets will end when school resumes to reduce site congestion.

Vendor applications, rules and updates are available at newulm.com/farmersmarket.