The 23rd annual Towson Farmers' Market opens for the season on Thursday, offering fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and other produce from local farms to area residents and office workers.

The market, open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays from now until Oct. 30, features items grown by 20 farmers from the surrounding counties and southern Pennsylvania. Each vendor operates a stand on the block of Allegheny Avenue between Washington Avenue and York Road.

While the market attracts casual lunchtime traffic, "it's a destination point" for other people, said Tony Evans, farmers' market coordinator for the state Department of Agriculture.

"What keeps it working is a supreme selection of vendors and a broad selection of products," said Evans. He also points to the market's setting as a contributing factor to success. "Its location is superb, right smack in the heart of Towson."

Last year, the market drew about 2,000 people each week, including Susan K. DiLonardo, executive director of the Towson Business Association. She predicts the same type of turnout this year.

Despite the potential for expansion, the market is confined to the small stretch of Allegheny Avenue near the Towson traffic circle for logistical reasons. "We're sort of landlocked," DiLonardo said. "We could fill up a whole other block."

Even in its present form, the weekly event is a boon to the businesses of the block, increasing the flow of people through an already busy area.

"When it's nice, the whole street is packed with people," said Tom Washburn, owner of 4-year-old Moxley's Ice Cream at 25 Allegheny Ave. and president-elect of the Towson Business Association. "We are busy, there's no doubt about it. We love it."

In light of this opportunity for increased commerce, DiLonardo offers this playful warning to retailers near the market venue: "Use it or lose it."

The Kabob Hut, at 13 Allegheny Ave., takes this advice to heart and will grill burgers just outside its door on Thursdays to advertise and try to profit from this influx of potential customers, said owner James Jadali.

Joan Linz of the Catholic Corner Bookstore is considering an outdoor booth to take advantage of the increase in pedestrian traffic.

David Hochheimer, who owns a farm in Lineboro and has come to the market for the past 20 years, will be selling his traditional harvest of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and peaches.

"Towson is the best weekday market I go to," said Hochheimer, who sells his fruits at eight markets each week with help from his wife and brother.