Vendors see potential of new Niagara Falls market
But it was a slow start to season, compared to temporary location
While vendors were optimistic about the future of the Niagara Falls Farmers Market in its new $17-million facility, its opening day — Saturday — fell short of the crowds they were used to seeing at the temporary location for the past few years.
“I think there’s potential here — a lot of potential — as long as we can get the customers,” said Anne Durst from Bry-Anne Farms.
“There are lots of customers today. I just hope they keep coming back. It’s crucial to my business because I’m a grower and everything I produce I sell at these markets. It’s important for me to be here.”
Opening day was a homecoming for the market.
It had been located at the same location on Sylvia Place for more than 50 years before it was temporarily relocated to the MacBain Community Centre in 2020, while construction delays hampered the completion of the new Niagara Falls Exchange building.
“That turned out to be amazing,” Durst said, referring to the market’s temporary location.
Janet DeVries from DeVries Fruit Farm said it was a slow start to the first day at the new market location, despite live music and other entertainers.
“It’s a little bit slow still today, compared to MacBain,” she said.
When the market was at the MacBain Community Centre’s parking lot on Montrose Road, DeVries said shoppers were typically lined up at her booth.
Despite the slow start, the vendors remained hopeful about the market’s future at the Niagara Falls Exchange.
There’s enough room at the 5943 Sylvia Place venue, located behind the Niagara Falls History Museum, to accommodate up to 45 vendors, in the inside the buildings and, additionally, on the large patio that surrounds it.
“I hope it’s amazing here too, but we’re feeling the waters right now,” Durst said.
While some of the produce vendors were selling was grown at their farms — such as rhubarb, asparagus, potted tomato plants and baked goods — it’s still much too early for other crops like peppers and strawberries that were instead purchased wholesale from southern Ontario greenhouses.
Durst said interest in the market will increase in the weeks to come, as more locally grown crops become available.
“Every year starts a bit slower,” DeVries said, adding she too hopes the new venue will draw even more shoppers.
“I hope it facilitates business for everybody. … It is the first one of the year as well, and you don’t know what to expect on the first day.”
The market will operate from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday until Oct. 26 — one of many activities taking place at the venue.
The Niagara Falls Supper Market will also take place at the facility, starting in June and running every Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. until the end of September.