After facing an uncertain future for several years, the North Beach Farmers Market officially opened for its second season in a row on Saturday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Mayor London Breed.

The original North Beach farmers market, at the the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Mason Street, closed in 2013 due to a lack of customers. After years in limbo, the market finally returned last May, taking over the parking lot next to Italian restaurant Piazza Pellegrini (699 Columbus Ave., at Filbert).

It's a joint project between Piazza Pellegrini and North Beach Neighbors (NBN), a local neighborhood nonprofit. 

"Every farm that finished the year at the market last year reapplied this year," said organizer Danny Sauter, who's also NBN's president. On top of that, three new vendors have been added to the mix, based on community feedback from last year.

Sauter learned that the community especially wanted to see a bakery, so he brought in Mountain View-based The Midwife and the Baker, which is now selling its sourdough bread and pastries at the market. San Francisco-based CheeseQuakes! is also on board, offering its mini cheesecakes every other week.

Neighbors also asked for more farms to join in, so Shoup Farms is now bringing its avocados from Southern California to North Beach. "It's a great opportunity for us," owner Margaret Crane said.

Shoppers can also peruse items from returning vendors, like Big Paw Olive Oil, Rodriguez Farms' strawberries, smoked salmon from FreshWay Fish and eggs from Great Valley Poultry. (A list of all the vendors is available on the market's website).

Nick Ferris, another organizer, said that community-building is a key goal of the market, and shoppers and farmers have started to get to know each other.

In her ribbon-cutting speech on Saturday, Mayor Breed also pointed out that North Beach Farmers Market accepts CalFresh payments, commonly referred to as food stamps. "Farmers markets bring the community together," she said.

Sauter says the market also plans to offer live music and kids' craft corners this year, though specific launch dates remain in the works. 

"Last year got us off the ground," Sauter said. "But [2019] is gonna be a fun year [for the market]."

North Beach Farmers Market will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through November.