MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Wednesday nights this summer on Washington Street in Marquette have been taken over by the downtown farmers market.
It’s estimated 30,000 people made the trip to Downtown Marquette this summer to enjoy the farmers market. Patrons could purchase everything from hand made hats to locally grown produce.
“This market has brought a lot of new artisans from the community. I’m really excited about a lot of the apparel vendors that are coming out, we have MQTees, we have Cut Throat Kids,” remarked Sara Johnson, the Market Manager.
The market attracted over 40 vendors weekly this summer. The community support for the market gave them a reason to keep coming back.
“Big thing for me being a small business is just the consistency and the cashflow for the business has been awesome,” commented Alec Houston, the owner of Cut Throat Kids, a vendor at the market.
It’s not just the vendors who are feeling the positive impact. Businesses along Washington Street say they receive a high amount of foot traffic on Wednesday nights.
“It is a great opportunity for people who don’t normally shop on washington street to come in and see what we are all about,” said Anita Rieboldt, an employee at 906 and Company.
One business owner raised concerns about the market. With the street being shut down at 2:30 p.m to allow for vendors to set up, they said it cut down on prime shopping time throughout the summer.
The business did not want to speak on camera but the Marquette DDA said they recognize the concerns and are exploring options for next year’s farmers market.
“Next year, again unofficially, we would look at shutting the street down later, our vendors are really efficient at setting up, which is awesome, but still the market is from 5 until 8 p.m. So we would have to shut down the street earlier than that,” added Johnson.
The DDA says they are looking forward to bringing back the market next year; an unofficial schedule is expected to be released at the end of the calendar year.
