Located in the Vista, the Farmers Market Xchange offers a spot to buy local produce, enjoy a freshly-brewed coffee or sit down to a homemade meal.
The Farmers Market Xchange first opened on Sept. 1, 2023, started by USC professor and director of the Applied Sciences Center for Applied Innovation and Advanced Analytics, Neset Hikmet.
Neset Hikmet started the market to meet the need he saw in the community for reliable, local produce during COVID-19, he said. His family had a farm, Tom Creek Family Farm, and he knew a farm-to-market store could provide what people were lacking, he said.
Since it first opened, the Farmers Market Xchange has evolved and now sells far more than produce.
“It is a micro farmers market that encompasses both a cafe, a vegetable stand, a deli store, a charcuterie, a bakery, sandwich stand, it's all in one, like a Swiss Army knife (of) farmers markets,” Neset Hikmet said.
The market developed into what it is today as it grew in popularity not only as a spot for students and professionals in Columbia alike to shop but also to socialize, Neset Hikmet said.
“It's evolved (into) more of a community place rather than a business place,” Neset Hikmet said. “Many people enjoy coming and sitting, grabbing a cup of coffee … So we kind of veered towards more sandwiches, and coffee and similar products, more so than lots of vegetables from our farm.”
The Farmers Market Xchange does as much as it can in-house, such as making its own bread and sandwiches and roasting its own coffee beans, Neset Hikmet said. For products that the market does not produce independently, they work with local partners who share a commitment to quality products, he said.
USC Aiken alumnus and Hikmet's son, Ali Hikmet, runs the business. Ali Hikmet fills in wherever needed to keep the business running smoothly, he said.
As the business has grown beyond only offering fresh produce, a commitment to supplying as many healthy products as possible remains the driving factor behind everything else, Ali Hikmet said.
“(The Farmers Market Xchange) is more of a farm-to-table type of store that focuses on healthy eating, healthy living,” Ali Hikmet said. “We make sure that all the products that we source have no preservatives or no antibiotics."
Returning to the basics has helped the market to grow in popularity as it seeks to provide healthy goods to health-conscious students, Neset Hikmet said.
First-year USC graduate student Aidan Reilly finds the Xchange welcoming, calm and spacious, he said.
"It’s just a nice, welcoming, friendly environment, whether you just want to get a quick bite to eat, or you actually want to get your shopping done, or both at the same time to be efficient,” Reilly said.
Reilly first heard about the market from a friend who bought bread from it, which is still his favorite thing about the market, he said.
“Students that shop here, if you ask about specifically students, they come for the sourdough, they come for the bagels, especially, they come for the sandwiches,” Neset Hikmet said.
Ali Hikmet said among the most popular products at the market are raw milk and yogurt, free-range eggs, sandwiches and bread.
"If you go to any retail store — they have the most ingredients in there when it's just three main ingredients when you're making bread. So, we just decided to kind of focus on taking out all those additives that are in there, and just focusing on that," Ali Hikmet said.
Among the market’s regular clients for bread is the USC football team. Neset Hikmet specially makes high-protein, organic bread, croissants and bagels for the team every week, he said.
Freshly brewed coffee sourced from Central and South America, among the cheapest in Columbia, is another draw for the market, Ali Hikmet said.
The market’s daily lunches, served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, are also popular, with about 70 people coming to enjoy the freshly-made meal every day, Ali Hikmet said.
Every Monday, the market serves a Mediterranean-style meal that reflects Neset Hikmet’s Cypriot heritage, he said.
Open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Farmers Market Xchange offers a variety of goods to the Columbia community, from health-conscious shoppers to students looking for a new study spot.