2 days Ago By Zac Delaney
Article content After more than 40 years of operating on Saturdays, the famed indoor Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market (OSFM) will be expanding its days of operation to include Sundays into the future. “It’s something new for this area, but we feel that we need to expand — the community desires that. We’ve got this big, beautiful, building and we need to keep it going, and activate it within the space we have,” said OSFM market manager, Corinne Olson.
“So, that’s by bringing in an extra day.” Speaking with Postmedia on Friday, Olson revealed that the iconic Edmonton market would be permanently expanding its hours to include Sundays from 11 a.m.
to 3 p.m., starting on May 4.
While the market has dabbled in pop-ups and mid-week activations before, the Sunday opening will be the new norm. Olson said the change comes from a mixture of demand by customers and necessity from the city to activate the area more. OSFM signed a new lease for the building with the city last year, allowing it to continue operating in the popular locale.
However, the city also said the market would need to increase its activation beyond one day a week. The prod to expand was also coupled with the city not renewing OSFM’s lease on the nearby city parking lot, which helped to subsidize costs. At the same time, Olson said the group released a survey last year asking customers what they wanted, which showed strong support for opening the market on Sunday.
“We have cameras that show us that people are pulling on the doors on a Sunday. They want to come in,” said Olson. Even with a mandate from the city to increase activity, a decrease in revenue, and a visible interest from customers for more market access, Olson said the decision still wasn’t “a no brainer.
” “We need to have some discussion to determine what was best for all. And this just seemed like it was the most feasible at this point in time,” said Olson. “It’s time to progress to something more.
” The extra day is likely to have an impact on vendors, who have grown accustomed to the market’s long-standing history of single-day operation. Some will have to rearrange their operations to make the extra day work, and Olson was transparent that not all vendors are thrilled about the change. “Some of the vendors .
.. are not excited about it, but they’re willing to participate with it (to) see where it goes,” said Olson.
The expanded days of operation are accompanied by some physical changes to the market, too. The OSFM is adding a walk-in cooler to accommodate more vendors who will now be bringing in enough products on Fridays for both Saturdays and Sundays. She said the market also has another surprise coming in late May.
“We have another teaser that’s coming in the end of May, that’s also an addition to the market community, but I’m not going to give you any more than that, because we want to keep it as a surprise as it unfolds in the near future,” she said. For her part, Olson said she’s excited about the decision to expand the market’s days of operation, explaining that there’s been a heightened demand for local products as trade with the U.S.
has deteriorated. “People really want to support local and they want to keep it within the confines of our country,” she said. The extra day of service will begin on May 4 and continue going forward.
The group takes inspiration from other indoor markets across Canada, which Olson said operate more than once a week. “We want to just expand our horizons and grow,” said Olson. “We’re not going to be Granville Island, but we can be something totally different within this historic area of Old Strathcona.
”.
