NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — After 21 years, the downtown Crescent City Farmers Market is moving.
Starting Saturday (Oct. 1), the farmers market will setup at 750 Carondelet St. near Julia St., about four blocks away from its original location. The old spot, a parking lot at Magazine St. and Girod St., has plans to be developed.
When the organizers of the market heard they had to leave, they considered whether to stay downtown.
“We did a survey of our vendors to ask them where would you like to be, what parts of the city,” says Kathryn Parker, executive director of the Crescent City Famers Market. “And, after talking to them one-on-one, they overwhelmingly said they wanted to stay downtown.”
The goal became to stay within two miles of the original location. “We put the word out on our website. And, people starting suggesting a lot of locations,” remembers Parker. “I felt like a real estate agent. I did a ton of viewing: parking lots, buildings, all sorts of things.”
The Domain Companies, a real estate company that Parker says keeps the community in mind, donated the space for the new location. The Domain Companies is responsible for the South Market District, a five-block development near the new location of the market.
For those long-time customers that can’t break the habit of going to the Magazine St. location, Parker says there will be a surprise waiting for them there.
“We might have something with one of our vendors that will give them a lift,” says Parker.
The downtown Crescent City Farmers Market is every Saturday from 8 a.m. – noon, now at 750 Carondelet St.