Public markets are making a comeback - just not yet in Louisville

Courier Journal

Whether you're looking to relax in the sun with a cold beer, shopping for a unique gift, or doing your grocery shopping, Findlay Market in Over-The-Rhine has it. The market is Ohio's oldest surviving municipal market house and dates back to 1855. The market is bordered by Elm and Race.

In 2003, the Findlay Market in Cincinnati was barely a reflection of the popular neighborhood and tourist destination it is today.

Half of the market house's vendor stalls were empty. Buildings surrounding the 150-year-old structure were in drastic disrepair. No one was taking control of the property, and there was no reason for most people to stop by.

Fourteen years later, a $13-million renovation and some intense reconfiguring have turned Findlay Market into a jewel of the city, boasting 1.2 million visitors annually and embodying the community in a way few other establishments can.

LISTEN NOW: How coffee roasters plan to build a new Louisville public market

Guide:Find every episode of Mighty Fine Farm & Food podcast here

It's a successful example of a traditional market that has refitted itself to meet modern trends — a place people no longer visit out of necessity but out of a desire to connect with their food and community in a classically cool way.

It's a market that has been used as inspiration for new projects nationwide because, let's face it, public markets are a must-have again. And while cities like Indianapolis and Nashville have seen success with projects of their own, Louisville — so far — has been left out.

Story continues after video.

"I think a true public market would be extraordinarily successful in Louisville," said Aaron Zaretsky, a public market developer whose worked with markets in more than 50 cities, including Findlay in Cincinnati. "It's a pain in the butt. It definitely takes experienced help. But there've been a lot of new ones that are very successful."

In March, the owners of Safai Enterprises announced plans to turn part of the former Axton Candy and Tobacco Company building in Shelby Park into a market the city could get behind.

Rumors of projects planned in other neighborhoods have cropped up since. But as of now, no projects have gotten off the ground.

HAYMARKET HISTORY

A 1943 photo shows the Haymarket bustling with customers.

At one time before the turn of the 20th century, Louisville was home to at least seven market houses operating along Market Street between Clay and 17th streets, according to the Courier-Journal archives.

After the last market house closed in 1888, a group of farmers banded together and established the Haymarket on Jefferson Street in 1891.

Podcast: Restaurant culture doesn’t make it easy to get sober

Archived photos through the years show the market's progression from a swath of uncovered produce stands to a fully-enclosed building with refrigerated cases.

But the market was eventually doomed by urban sprawl. In 1966, construction of Interstate 65 downtown cut through its original site, and in 2003, the market's new property was sold off to form the University of Louisville Foundation's Nucleus Innovation Center.

In 2008, a study commissioned by the Louisville Metro Economic Development Department suggested that a public market could provide about $5.1 million in sales to Kentucky farmers, "while providing small business development opportunities and jobs and a permanent showcase for Kentucky foods."

But for more than a decade, no new markets have replaced the old.

SAFAIS STEP IN

Mike and Medora Safai have long wanted to re-introduce a public market to the Louisville community. But since 1998, the couple has been busy growing their wholesale coffee roasting business.

Over the past two decades, the couple's company — Safai Enterprises — has undergone several expansions, moving from Barret Avenue to La Grange to its most recent home at the corner of Kentucky and Logan streets in Shelby Park.

It's at that building where the couple now plans to finally open a public market, starting small at first with 18 permanent vendors and incorporating new space for additional vendors as funds are raised.

"We're doing this no matter what," Mike Safai said. "I am adamant to do this. But the whole thing is, if I can get help from the government, then I can make it a nonprofit."

Privately-owned markets that attempt to turn a profit are generally the least likely to succeed, said Zaretsky, the public market developer.

Need fresh produce? You can find it at the Roth Produce and Catanzaro Family Produce stands at Findlay Market in Over-The-Rhine. There are approximately 100 vendors at the market, which is Ohio's oldest surviving municipal market house and dates back to 1855. You'll find everything from artisan gifts, to baked good, fresh flowers and of course, fresh produce, meat, poultry and fish.

"The reality is that most of them either do not do very well or they are exclusively upscale, very high-end products," Zaretsky said. "The ones that do well, like the Chelsea Market (in New York), are located amidst tremendous amounts of wealthy customers."

That's not the route Safai said he wants to take.

Shelby Park is a working class neighborhood. And a section of Old Louisville, a few blocks over, is a USDA certified food desert that lacks access to fresh food options.

The Safais hope to apply for grant money that can pay for construction of the market's infrastructure — including refrigerated coolers, exterior improvements and a communal kitchen space — and make the vending stalls affordable to farmers and other business owners around the city.

"If I have everything, they can walk in and start selling," Safai said. "Then they can sell (meats and produce) cheaper and make more money."

The Safais' plans are lofty, but they're not unattainable.

In the past two decades, more than 300 new public markets have opened worldwide, Zaretsky said.

BECOMING AN EXAMPLE

The Safais cite Findlay Market in Cincinnati as inspiration for their proposed project.

A recent visit with Joe Hansbauer, president of the Corporation for Findlay Market, made it clear why.

The market in Cincinnati's Over the Rhine neighborhood is flowing with customers even on a Tuesday afternoon. Vendors fill every inch of its space, slinging everything from inexpensive chicken cutlets to premade gourmet salads.

More:Youth gardening program increasingly needed as grocery stores close

It's that mix of high-end and affordable that make Findlay so successful, Hansbauer said.

"In my opinion, a really important part of public markets is serving a diverse shopper base," Hansbauer said. "Findlay Market is probably the most diverse place in Cincinnati whether you look at it from a geographic, demographic or race-based component. We're not only attracting that, but we're having people using the market at the same time for the same reasons. It's a difficult thing to do in most scenarios."

Hansbauer and other members of the corporation, a nonprofit organized by the city, now curate the vendors, restaurants and other businesses that operate out of the market and surrounding buildings to reach their diversity goal.

Rendering of a proposed indoor market at the intersection of Logan and Kentucky streets, designed by Foxworth Architecture.

But they didn't always have that option. In 2003, when the nonprofit was formed, the market house was half empty. It attracted just 20 percent of the annual visitors it gets now, and people living nearby were few and far between.

Hansbauer credits the market's turnaround in part to shopping trends as well as the city's investment and its willingness to refocus the market's place in the community.

Since then, the market has become something of a food business incubator, providing owners a space to test their products before moving to a larger space elsewhere in the city, Hansbauer said.

"Findlay Market, I think, is here to help food entrepreneurs start, grow and scale their business," Hansbauer said, citing several examples of restaurants that started as pop-up tents before graduating to permanent locations. "... It has an impact on the market and the city of Cincinnati."

The market itself and the neighborhood around it are still changing 14 years after the city's major investment.

Hansbauer can point to several buildings that are still in disrepair and others where new restaurants and correlating businesses are planned.

But the changes mean the market's still growing, it's still needed.

Louisville's just needs to get its start.

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.

LISTEN

Hear Mike and MedoraSafai discuss their proposed public market on a podcast episode, produced in partnership with the Mighty Fine Farm & Food podcast and Kertis Creative. Find the podcast at courier-journal.com or soundcloud.com/cj-mighty-fine-farm-food.