Lyme — The Lyme Farmers Market will be back for its 15th year when June rolls around at Ashlawn Farm, but this time around it will be run by Mark and Alisa Mierzejewski of Burgis Brook Farm in Canterbury.

Last year, Ashlawn Farm owner Chip Dahlke announced that the farmers market would be coming to an end.

"I did it 14 years, and it was time," he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

But the market proved so popular that townspeople wouldn't let go of the idea of bringing it back. Dahlke reported getting several offers to take over the event, and he finally settled on the Mierjewskis as market masters, announcing the decision in a Facebook posting Tuesday.

Mary Stone, a former political candidate from Old Lyme who previously had announced her interest in reviving the market, also will be involved in keeping the Saturday events alive, he added.

The Mierzejewski have been vendors at the market for several years. They raise alpacas on their farm whose hair is used as yarn as well as harvesting honey from their apiary and growing five different varieties of gourmet garlic, Alisa Mierzejewski said in a phone interview.

"We're trying to make it seamless," she said of the transition. "We're trying to keep everything exactly the same. ... It's one of the markets that we really love."

Dahlke liked to keep the market simple, with no poodle parades or eggplant-carving contests as he humorously proclaimed on Facebook.

The market features the usual fare at such events, Dahlke said, including beef, cheese, vegetables, fruits and crafts. Food trucks also have been part of the mix, with coffee roasted by Ashlawn Farm available as well.

"It really is all about the atmosphere," Mierzejewski said. "It's a great place to have a market."

Dahlke said the market generally had about 30 vendors every week. He wasn't sure why it became so popular, he said, but estimates of weekly visitors ranged from 200 to 1,000.

"They have nothing else to do," he speculated. "It's not like Burning Man."

Dahlke said it will be good to be the landlord rather than the guy who has to manage the show.

"I don't have to get up at 5 o'clock on Saturday mornings," he said. "This market has turned out harder to get rid of than bedbugs."

Mierzejewski said no contract has yet been signed, and she wasn't sure of all the details because she and Dahlke have had only preliminary meetings. Dahlke said the lease will likely be for the season.

"This is an experiment to see if they can (screw) it up as much as I did," Dahlke said. "And if they do they can keep it."

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow