Farmers market hopes to grow to Wednesdays

Sarasota Farmers Market General Manager Phil Pagano hopes to capitalize on the event’s success and help generate foot traffic downtown by holding a second weekly market on Wednesdays at Five Points Park.

Pagano outlined the plan for growth at a community meeting Monday evening. The plan drew some enthusiastic support from several Main Street businesses, but it also drew some concern from residents near where the proposed event would be held.

Pagano is proposing a six-month initial run for the mid-week event, from November through April.

Vendors would be set up on the west side of the park along Pineapple Avenue; the event would result in no street closures. The market would feature around 40 vendors — with a particular emphasis on agricultural offerings — and would be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Research into the potential expansion of the market has been ongoing for six years, Pagano said. He said he’s received positive feedback from vendors at the market and retailers and restaurants downtown when he’s asked them about the Wednesday event. After hearing concern from downtown leaders about the impending arrival of the Mall at University Town Center, Pagano said he felt the time was right to make his move.

“I think it’s a critical time downtown, with a lot of things happening,” Pagano said. “I think that this could help with the foot traffic that’s very well needed with the mall coming in.”

He said the original purpose of the Sarasota Farmers Market was similar when Paul Thorpe created the event in 1979. Downtown merchants in attendance Monday were excited by the prospect of a mid-week event and said the activity would be appreciated, even during the height of season.

“I love the fact Five Points Park will have something in it on a Wednesday during the week,” said Elsie Souza, who works at Bookstore1Sarasota on Main Street. “Speaking as someone who is working downtown, anything at all that will bring foot traffic, believe me, we can certainly use.”

In addition to the produce vendors, Pagano said he has also received interest in a space for nearby restaurants to offer samples to customers.

The reception was not all positive, though. Residents in the condominium buildings that overlook Five Points Park had a series of concerns regarding the proposal. They asked questions about the adequacy of nearby parking and the additional traffic generated by the event, the potential negative effects of the additional foot traffic on non-retail stores and on the impact of the event on the grounds of Five Points Park.

“The park looks great now, but it doesn’t take very long for it to turn to something not so great,” said Ron Rayevich, a resident of the Plaza at Five Points. “Things get trampled on; plants get broken.”

Pagano said he’s worked with Parking Manager Mark Lyons and would encourage drivers to use the Palm Avenue Parking Garage, but the residents were skeptical that the garage would see much use.

Rayevich said he didn’t doubt that the Wednesday market would be a success — which caused him to wonder if the event could eventually expand to include street closures.

“I think it’ll be a smash hit,” Rayevich said. “The problem will be what happens when we want more space.”

Pagano reiterated his vision for a smaller market on Wednesdays, even if the demand exists for more vendors in the middle of the week. Were the Wednesday event to grow to the point that the Five Points location no longer adequately met the needs of the market, Pagano suggested a relocation would be more likely than an expansion that included a street closure.

“I don’t think we’d want to get to the point where we’re managing 90 vendors like we are on Saturday,” Pagano said. “I don’t think we would want to start closing streets or doing that in the future. Maybe that would be a time to go to some other area.”

Pagano is still raising funds for additional amenities, such as music, before seeking a permit from the city for the Wednesday market. Despite the concerns, he was confident the expansion would be beneficial.

“I know that area is very fragile,” Pagano said. “I wouldn’t even want to attempt something like this if I thought there would be a problem with what we’re proposing.”