Providence Open Market

[mbz]

Saki's around the corner on Weybosett sells Del's - they should have had a big sign out front. I agree that more food vendors would be welcome. I think that sticky food like roasted nuts or cotton candy would make the vendors nervous. If I were selling clothes or art or paper goods, I wouldn't want them to get all yucky.

[Cotuit]

Fried dough, etc? - Our goal is to provide healthy edidables for the Market, not junk. The Market is primarily an independent artists and designers Market, not a carnival. If we start selling candy popcorn, fried dough and sugary nuts, it will be more like a flea market or carnival...not our vision. We do have more food vendors booked for the upcoming months.

[runawayjim]

Vendor Variety - Every week there are new vendors at the Market. We have a four day minimum for vendors which keeps the Market fresh each week.

Fried dough, etc? - Our goal is to provide healthy edidables for the Market, not junk.

The Market is primarily an independent artists and designers Market, not a carnival. If we start selling candy popcorn, fried dough and sugary nuts, it will be more like a flea market or carnival...not our vision. We do have more food vendors booked for the upcoming months.

We will not be adding pony rides or moon bounces to the Market anytime soon. If this is what your looking for, go to six flags or your local town carnival. We will be adding more local bands to the roster and street performers.....and face painters for kids. Again the main focus for our Market is to provide an affordable space for independent artists, designers, farms and antique vendors to sell and network to the buying public. Every week you will see something new, so make sure to come down and enjoy what our new Market has to offer.

[Cotuit]

I didn't feel like taking photos, but I did snap a couple while sitting at tazza.

[marketmanager]

I look forward to seeing more edibles, 'healthy' or not.

I thought part of the point was to bring people Downtown, not to tell them to go somewhere else. You're coming off as a tad elitist, I must say, it's rather off-putting. If those of us who enjoy a fried dough aren't welcome, let us know, we'll stay home.

But I'll give you a little friendly advice because I do want to see this succeed. Providence is not the South End, I understand you have a vision, but if you ignore the customer base in this city, you're doomed to fail. I was disspointed there was not more food available, having an area where people can eat, and maybe even sit down for a while eating, will increase the crowds and make the market look busier. The crowds were getting a bit anemic by around 3pm, and the anemic crowds made for sad looking vendors. If I knew I could reliably get a lunch-like meal there every week, I'd probably be there every week. Tazza certainly isn't reliable.

[spanishboy]

Thanks for the feedback. Here are some answers to some of your concerns.

Farmers - The reason why you did not see more farms is because its too early in the season to sell anything. Most farms don't have anything to sell until the second week in July, until there crops are ready for picking. We have more booked for later in the season.

Vendor Variety - Every week there are new vendors at the Market. We have a four day minimum for vendors which keeps the Market fresh each week.

Fried dough, etc? - Our goal is to provide healthy edidables for the Market, not junk.

The Market is primarily an independent artists and designers Market, not a carnival. If we start selling candy popcorn, fried dough and sugary nuts, it will be more like a flea market or carnival...not our vision. We do have more food vendors booked for the upcoming months.

We will not be adding pony rides or moon bounces to the Market anytime soon. If this is what your looking for, go to six flags or your local town carnival. We will be adding more local bands to the roster and street performers.....and face painters for kids. Again the main focus for our Market is to provide an affordable space for independent artists, designers, farms and antique vendors to sell and network to the buying public. Every week you will see something new, so make sure to come down and enjoy what our new Market has to offer.

[Pseudo_Work]

i understand you... you cant please everyone in RI. And no one should tell u what to do..it is your idea... i havent seen anyone else try so good for you. I can tell u that this idea is great and there is ALWAYS room for improvement. and it was the FIRST event so you have time to add things for MORE customers.

[runawayjim]

Those who love fried dough are more than welcome, everyone is welcome!

We are being elitist because we wont offer junk food to our customers?

I'm simply saying that if your looking for cotton candy, pony rides etc...your at the wrong event. If your looking for original art, crafts, antiques and an in-season farmers market..then come down and enjoy the day. It doesn't make us elitist because we wont offer certain items. Do you go to Best Buy to buy linens or a Health Food Store to buy a Big Mac? I dont undertand why this is an issue? But I do agree that the Market does need more food vendors and a designated seating area, this will be worked on right away.

Please remember we are an outdoor weekly artisan, antique and farmers bazaar. We do not promote ourselves to be anything more or less. Again the farmers were slim because its too early in the growing season. The Market will take shape in time, but please cut us some slack it was our first day.

[AriPVD]

[Frankie811]

Thanks ARI for your last post. Great photos. But on the last one in the set, it almost looks like you were on some kind of apparattus attached to the Alice Building in order to take that photo. But I'm guessing that you were somehow lodged in the Peerless Building to take that photo. Or are you superman!?

[marketmanager]

i am not sure how offering doughboys or frozen lemonade would compromise the integrity of the original idea... it's simply giving people something to eat. i've been at events that tazza catered and they make some great muffins. why not have them sell some of those in addition to their iced teas? people shouldn't have to go into tazza to get cold beverages other than iced tea (which was actually very reasonably priced), otherwise you'd wait half an hour for it.

so yes, i think it is a tad elitist because you severely limit yourself when you only offer certain foods (many people just don't like health food or find it too expensive). you have to remember that the average RI'er and majority of providence residents are not into health food. so if you're trying to attract lots of people, you should offer a variety. i'm not saying turn it into a circus, but unhealthy foods like doughboys, frozen lemonade, and tazza muffins shouldn't be ruled out. otherwise, i have a feeling you won't get good crowds week after week. the novelty of it will die down and we certainly don't want to see that. please be aware that we are not attacking the idea or the market, but giving suggestions that will keep people coming.

[JimmyGreaves]

The key item of feeback I would be curious about is how easy was it for people to travel into the city for the open market. As important as the acutal offerings of the market will be in attracting loyal patrons to Westminster Street, I feel that the ease of people traveling downtown, via car or transit or foot or whatever mode, is the most important aspect.

[runawayjim]

Thanks ARI for your last post. Great photos. But on the last one in the set, it almost looks like you were on some kind of apparattus attached to the Alice Building in order to take that photo. But I'm guessing that you were somehow lodged in the Peerless Building to take that photo. Or are you superman!?

[marketmanager]

looks like he did it from the roof of peerless.

walking downtown to go to the market was quite easy for me. of course, i don't need signage to find my way there though. might've been a bit more difficult for others.

again, i think the directions on the open market website need to be fixed to be a bit more accurate to what people see (such as the wrong label for exit 21 northbound and calling empire st route 1). directions for cars should also direct people to the adjacent parking lot rather than westminster street.

[runawayjim]

Can someone give us accurate directions for our website? We got the directions from Mapquest, but they are very confusing.

Thanks!

[runawayjim]

another thought... i've found that mapquest gives bad directions for the providence area... so i'd recommend using google for it anyways. but one option you have is to simply provide a link to the location, something like the following:

Union and Westminster, Providence, RI

people can then enter their own starting point and it'll give them directions based on where they are (which is good for people who live in the city and don't know how to get there).

[AriPVD]

Yes, it was from the Peerless Roof. I do not know how to fly, yet.

Some thoughts on the market:

I think it was tremendously successful for the first ever event of its kind at that location. I have never seen Westminster St so busy during a Saturday. More than one person remarked that it really felt like it tied the whole neighborhood together. The stores were also buzzing, which I am always happy to see.

All the suggestions here are good ones. Definitely more food, and the farmers market component when the season is right.

We are also going to be treating the lot by next week so that there is no dust. It should be a more pleasurable (and cleaner) experience.

I look forward to the evolution in future weeks!

[Frankie811]

I think it was tremendously successful for the first ever event of its kind at that location. I have never seen Westminster St so busy during a Saturday. More than one person remarked that it really felt like it tied the whole neighborhood together. The stores were also buzzing, which I am always happy to see.

All the suggestions here are good ones. Definitely more food, and the farmers market component when the season is right.

We are also going to be treating the lot by next week so that there is no dust. It should be a more pleasurable (and cleaner) experience.

I look forward to the evolution in future weeks!

[jencoleslaw]

We are also going to be treating the lot by next week so that there is no dust. It should be a more pleasurable (and cleaner) experience.

[Liamlunchtray]

We are being elitist because we wont offer junk food to our customers?

[basachs]

Yeah, kindof... I don't really see how a healthy snack should necesarily be of your concern. I could see not wanting ponyrides or carnival stuff, but things like Dels, Ice cream, and kettle corn on a summers day really add a lot of fun. You also need to realize that a lot of your patrons have kids, and if there are no tasty treats or kids activities it is a lot harder for parents to spend time looking at antiques or whatever. A cup of dels and a face painting could go a LONG way in keeping customers there longer. Refreshed customers and happy kids = bigger sales. I kind of get the vibe that unless things are healthy you are seeing them as somehow beneath you. Cater to your customers wants!

[Pseudo_Work]

A tad off topic as this may be, I'm sort of wondering when there might be an actual building in this space, or a real, honest-to-god park (which would be a friendlier space for the open market).

[marketmanager]

I definitely agree with this, and I dont have kids. Not trying to belabor the point being made here, just showing that there are customers out there that will appreciate all the types of vendors that you are bringing to us and still want to munch on some fried dough and slurp a lemonade. I was there with my wife and friend from Boston and we bought a handmade bag, some cool earrings, etc. I would have loved to have some fried dough and a lemonade to go along with that. And not because I am some unsophisticate who likes to eat crap, but I do like perusing the independent wares with something that tastes better in the sunshine and outdoors. Fried dough, lemonade and ice cream fall squarely into that category.

[bhooley]

I have to agree that the market, in my opinion, was a huge success. Maybe I'm not nitpicking because I was so excited to see so many people downtown on a Saturday... The shops had merchandise out and I'm sure they were loving all the foot traffic.

Also, I agree that it doesn't need to have fried dough and carnival rides to be kid friendly. Maybe some of the artists could have demonstrations on how they create their work or there could be interactive tables.

Feedback is extremely important but I'm honestly surprised there is anything negative to say.

Great job to everyone involved and it will only get more popular and more exciting as it continues.

[runawayjim]

please keep in mind that i was not saying anything negative (except regarding tazza and their extremely slow service). i also found the market to be a great success, but the critiques were to help ensure future success and get people back week after week.