After financial challenges forced the Edmonton Downtown Farmers Market to leave its home in a building on 103rd Avenue and 97th Street, it’s returning to its outdoor format on 104th Street.
The market will run on Saturdays for up to 22 weeks from May to October 2024, the Edmonton Downtown Business Association announced on Wednesday.
The downtown market used to operate along the outdoor promenade on Saturdays before it moved to the historic Army & Navy building in 2020.
But the move to the indoor location coincided with the pandemic, and the market saw a big decline in vendors and shoppers. It also struggled with high utility costs and announced in January 2024 it would have to fold and declare bankruptcy.
Puneeta McBryan, CEO of the Downtown Business Association, said the move also impacted vendors.
“The location change seems to be one of the primary reasons for all the vendors who left. A lot of the vendors we’ve spoken to … they left that market because they were not happy with the indoor location and they weren’t happy with the geographic location,” McBryan said.
“They are very eager to return to 104th Street.”
She explained one benefit of an outdoor market is that it doesn’t require a lease holder.
“We’re very able to do this for this year,” McBryan said, “but for the longer term, getting back to an indoor space, that’s a longer-term conversation.”
“When it left, it left a little bit of a gap on 4th Street for residents that lived here,” said Chris Buyze, former president of the Downtown Edmonton Community League. “Since then, we’ve tried to program 4th Street in different ways. I think the market returning is a perfect fit for 4th Street.”
Buyze said the community is very excited to have the market back. He said the exact location has not yet been determined and will depend on vendor interest and space.
“It’s not quite the same footprint that the downtown farmers market was on when they were previously on the street,” McBryan said. “There is some LRT construction starting this year, so 102nd Avenue won’t be a part of the market but 104th Street itself will be closed to vehicles during the market and it will be an outdoor market.”
The EDBA is working with the city, Downtown Edmonton Community League, former board members of the EDFMA, and other partners to get a market up and running, in some format, this summer. It will be funded by the Downtown Vibrancy Fund and the EDBA.
McBryan said the DBA heard from a lot of people after the market announced it had to fold.
“The overwhelming sentiment was that the community wants to see a downtown farmers’ market restored on 104 Street, and that the loss of the market from 104 Street has been felt for years,” she said.
“We believe that a successful downtown farmers’ market is essential to the vibrancy and livability of the core, and so the EDBA board and team have made the decision to take on a lead convening and oversight role in establishing a 104th Street market for the 2024 market season,” McBryan added.
McBryan said having the market on 104th Street again could help bring life back to one of Edmonton’s best spots.
“Historical experience tells us that the increased visitation to the area will greatly benefit nearby restaurants and other small businesses. We’ve already had an outpouring of support and offers of assistance from our members and from displaced vendors from the now-closed EDFMA,” she said.
“Our business on 104th Street are so excited about this,” McBryan added. “That’s one of the main reasons we’ve chosen to take this on. We had done some town halls last year with our 104th Street businesses and they were so excited at the prospect of having a market again as neighbours on the weekends.”
Companies interested in operating the market have until March 15, 2024, to complete an expression of interest submission online. The EDBA is also actively recruiting vendors interested in selling at the outdoor market. The deadline for vendors to complete the vendor form is March 15, 2024.
Edmontonians love their farmers markets, the DBA pointed out.
“Edmonton does have the most markets of any city in Alberta,” McBryan said. “We have 13 approved Alberta farmers markets in the city and that doesn’t even include other non-approved farmers markets in the city, so public markets.”