by Bill Veneman » Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:08 pm
Although the Eatery concept is a fun idea, I don't think it would work well here for a couple of reasons....first off, the price point involved, and more importantly, the patience of the local patrons.
Further, the 'under one roof' Farmers Market concept has proven successful and profitable in practice. I will elaborate on this since I was blessed to be a Nashville resident when the Farmers Market moved from it's old shed local to it present, city owned and operated (under the State Fair Board I believe).
I have a couple of thoughts on this:
First, it was a huge piece of the puzzle of a revitalization of a rather rundown and 'tawdry' area of town, just north of city center. The renovation of the Germantown neighborhood (which had been underway for some years), and development of MetroCenter, and other changes in the old "Bottoms" area (which was built on the old city dump) were also key in this development. It has not happened without controversy nor neighborhood resistance, however, the end result is incredible. On a recent trip to Nashville, I was very pleased when I went there to see that a lot of my favorite vendors from my Nashville days were still established in the rentable stalls, and was able to get some of their delicious wares to bring home with me.
Secondly, with the renewed interest in the Portland area, the abundance of "reusable" land in the area, and the like, it occurs to me that we are in a classic setup for such a development on an equal, or maybe more grand scale. Louisville is defiantly a foodie town. Many of the top chefs in town utilize the fact that we are a UPS hub, hence we have availability to the freshest foods in better timeframes than many major markets. Some enterprising soul could play off of this fact as well and have a really fresh delivery market for the masses and make the "at home foodie" very happy, as well as local fare in a modern, comfortable and central location, plus assist in the redevelopment of the area.
Nashville, and it's surrounding areas (Franklin, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, etc.) have all looked at, and established redevelopment and reuse projects with great success. Louisville has a few good starts that are going towards the central and more east part of town (Mellwood, NuLu, Bardstown Road, Frankfort Avenue, The Highlands to name a few off the top of my head.
When I lived in Nashville, my office just on the other side of the river from the Market, so I would go by there several times during the course of the week. In the beginning, it was a bit of a Hodgepodge of vendors "trying the waters", but over time, the tried and true have stuck it out. By the time I left Nashville in 2003, it was starting to come into it's own. It now has a fish market, butcher, ethnic grocery, and several other shops that cater to all sorts of different tastes. During the spring, it's the only place to go and get plants and foliage for the home garden, as well as in season vegetables. I miss my trips to the market in the afternoons, and my interactions with the vendors. It gave me reminders of a old fashioned village market of days gone by where you knew what you were getting, where it came from, and the pride of what was being sold.
I would be thrilled if some enterprising soul would take on this task. Louisville needs this badly!
If life's a Banquet, what's with all the Tofu?
Cheers!
Bill V.