For Mark Van Atter, it was a good sign.

Within an hour yesterday, the Church Hill baker had sold out; 100 loaves of bread -- baguettes, brioches, among them -- gone, just like that.

"I have a lot of friends over here," said Van Atter, peering through the tiniest round sunglasses.

"I kind of know the community. And I knew that it would be a good market."

Van Atter, of Bread for the People, wasn't the only vendor doing a brisk business at the first South-of-the-James Market in Forest Hill Park, an undulating oasis of green and granite.

"It's been great, considering we didn't have all that much to sell," said Jessica Delaura of Faith Farm Foods in Prince Edward County.

Her father, Paul Lawler, was busy selling New York strip steaks and ground beef from grass-fed cattle as well as hormone-free breakfast links and Italian sausage.

On a comfortable, sunny morning, 30 vendors were on hand and, within two hours, at least 400 people were snapping up flowers, fruit and herbs, queuing for coffee and pastry and listening to a six-piece string band playing Appalachian jigs.

Parking was abundant. Many residents rode bicycles to the park or walked, pushing strollers or dragged by their dogs.

The market, open Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon through October, is the brainchild of the Forest Hill and Westover Hills neighborhood associations.

With young families and a hefty swath of artists, professionals, senior government employees and the politically active, those neighborhoods, as well as nearby Woodland Heights, are a natural for the city's newest farmers' market, organizers said.

Other markets are at 17th Street in Shockoe Bottom and on Oregon Hill.

"There's a huge demand," said Councilwoman Kathy C. Graziano, whose 4th District includes Forest Hill Park.

"People want fresh produce, but they feel that going downtown to the market is inconvenient."

To pay for the market -- insurance, a manager and rent to the city -- Graziano, running for re-election, said she steered about $700 from her campaign fund and $3,400 from a $15,000 discretionary account maintained by the city for spending in her district.

All council members have such accounts.
Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com.