Former Coquina Beach Market Organizer Forced To Find New Home —​ Again

LONGBOAT KEY, FL — The past few years have been a whirlwind for market organizer Nancy Ambrose.

After running the Anna Maria Island Coquina Beach Market for about a decade, she was forced to regroup and find a new home after Manatee County abruptly ended its contract with her during the summer of 2022.

The Coquina Beach Market reopened this month under the helm of another organizer.
Ambrose previously hosted a market in Longboat Key, but was forced to move when the Town Green Center, 600 Bay Isles Road, was redeveloped.

Earlier this year, she launched The Market at The Point, which ran Jan. 13 through April 28 at the Point restaurant in Osprey.

But zoning issues — the restaurant’s owners found the property was zoned to host a market after a complaint from someone renting a nearby Airbnb — led to the cancellation of that market as well. She faced fines of $500 a day if she continued.

Left floundering for a new space, Ambrose is now returning to Longboat Key.

“The park at the Town Center Green has been built out,” she told Patch. “There’s a new amphitheater. It’s in a whole different shape than it was before. It’s really beautiful.”

Now that she’s moved further north with the market, many of her former Coquina Beach vendors are returning to the event.

“It’s really exciting. Everybody is excited to get back together,” Ambrose said. “We’re like a family. Everybody helped each other, did things together. They’re anxious to get back and be together again.”

The town and its residents are also excited to welcome the market back, she added. “They’re anxious to have the market again. That’s a real positive thing.”

The monthly market kicks off Dec. 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and could feature anywhere from 80 to 100 vendors. There’s also a space designated for three to four food trucks.

Other upcoming market dates include Jan. 15, Feb. 12, March 11 and April 15.