My Saturday as a Smorgasburg Vendor OR How I Stumbled into a Second Career

By Teresa Misagal

Last Christmas I gifted my co-workers with some of my homemade granola — a mixture of  oats, groats dried fruit (apricots, golden raisins, dried cherries and more), sunflower seeds, chopped almonds, walnuts and sweetened with a hint of maple syrup and honey. I’d just started making it as a hobby. They devoured it and asked me for more. One of the partners at the restaurant where I work (I’m a manager at Blue Ribbon Sushi) wanted to sell it, so we collaborated, and voila! My own line of Granola.

After only a few months, it made the Best of New York. This was fast turning into a second career!

Around 7 a.m. I drive over to Smorgasburg to secure a parking spot. That’s key.

I fuel up at Blue Bottle Coffee with barista Rachel.

My friend and neighbor Beth and I haul many pounds of sand that will be used to weigh down my canopy. We had a slew of sandbags leftover from Hurricane Sandy in storage at our building.

I’m often one of the first vendors on site!

Beth and I start to unload at my spot. It takes a few trips to get everything that I need from the truck, as well as the table and chairs that I rent onsite.

Setting up the tent is no joke — it takes at least two people. And it helps if you’re tall.

Set up and awaiting customers.

Giving the spiel and giving out samples.

One taste of Dailola Granola and folks are pretty much sold.

Dealing with the people can be exhausting! This looks like the hour where people are full from eating, so I slow down a little.

The day ends at 6pm and we pack up just like we loaded in. Here I am with another vendor, Yukimi of Momo Dressing. I love the camaraderie we sellers share.