Shoppers who love the array of goods up for grabs at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market will now have more opportunity to shop local.
On Tuesday, the farmers’ market in south Edmonton opened The Side Door: a permanent retail extension of the indoor market on 83 Avenue and Gateway Blvd.
“We’ve had this space that we’ve wanted to use for such a long time. We’ve wanted be able to get vendors in front of customers more than just Saturdays and Sundays,” said Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market Board president Neil Byatt.
Located on the southeast corner of the market building, The Side Door is stocked with local produce, frozen foods, sweets, baked goods, meat and dairy, beverages, artisanal goods and pantry items, along with grab and go foods.
The idea is to expand the weekend market experience into weekday life.
“Anything that we can do to bring more people down to this area, anything we can provide those services and those groceries to people who can’t make it during our regular business hours is fantastic,” Byatt said.
The Side Door will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The stock will change to feature a rotating selection from market vendors.
“For the community: somewhere different to come during the week, more access to local groceries outside of regular market hours. For the market: more business, more people coming through, a chance to meet new customers, customers who maybe aren’t here on a weekend,” Byatt said.
The market in Old Strathcona has been a popular destination for more than four decades in Edmonton and is one of the few that operates indoors year-round.
Another indoor space, the Bountiful Farmers’ Market, launched in 2019 and operates three days a week (Friday through Sunday) on 97 Street near 37 Avenue in southeast Edmonton.
This year on May 4, the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market expanded to operate on Sundays. Byatt said fears operating on Sundays would take away business from Saturdays has not come to pass.
In fact, he says the extra day has brought in more business for vendors.
“It’s a very different demographic. So we’re seeing different customers, new customers, which is fantastic.”
The hope is the the new shop will follow a similar pattern.
“Lets people get down here, lets people shop outside of regular market hours. Some people don’t like the busy-ness of the Saturdays. They like the quietness of the Sundays and of course now they have all the free time throughout the week to come down and visit as well,” Byatt said.
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