The Mercado Municipal is a covered hall a short walk from the main square, busy in the morning and quiet by early afternoon. Farmers from the slopes above town bring in vegetables, dried fish, and fruit; vendors sell household goods, plastic ware, and the occasional piece of local craftwork. It is not a tourist market — there are no souvenirs to speak of — and that is what makes it worth visiting.
The things to look for are the coffee and the grogue. Fogo coffee is grown high up on the volcano's fertile flanks, and the beans are small and dense with an earthy intensity that mass-produced blends lack. Buy it roasted and whole if you can find it. The grogue — sugar-cane rum distilled locally — comes in small plastic bottles or larger unlabelled ones, varying in strength and sweetness. Ask around and someone will point you toward the better producers. Fresh vegetables from the caldera area, including tomatoes and peppers grown in the volcanic soil of Chã das Caldeiras, are also sometimes available.