Right Now Downtown

Pearl Market fans might have been saddened when the summer Pearl Market came to a close on October 29, wrapping up another successful summer.  But the following week the Winter Pearl Market opened in a new location at 33 N. Third Street.  Now in the second year of a two-year grant from the USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program, the Winter Pearl Market will continue to offer fresh seasonal produce, meats, cheeses, bread, baked goods and unique handcrafted items.  The Winter Market will operate Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. through February 25.

Once again this year, the Capital Crossroads Market staff has put together a Marketplace where customers can shop a variety of goods from vendors such as Sweet Thing Gourmet, IKC Designs, The Olive Orchard and more.  The Marketplace  offers visitors a unique shopping experience for the holidays.  Shoppers can also continue to use their credit cards or Ohio Directions Card to make purchases, a service which was test run at last winter’s Market and utilized so successfully at the summer Market this year.

“We are excited about running a Winter Pearl Market again this year,” explained Adam Schroeder, Market Manager.  “We have a great mix of new and returning vendors and have brought in some live entertainment to add to the experience.”

Kacey Brankamp, Retail Recruiter for Capital Crossroads, is excited about the Market too.  It is her job to recruit retailers to the downtown area and the Pearl Market, both the summer and winter versions, is an outstanding tool.  The Pearl Markets serve as retail incubators for entrepreneurs interested in testing the waters downtown.  Someone with a great idea or an established business in another part of town can do a trial run downtown in a low-risk environment. 

The booth fees are minimal and include the “storefront,” so the vendor can focus solely on his/her product, customer interaction and visual display.  Being part of the Market also means their business is part of an established commercial area with its own marketing and existing customer base.

“The Pearl Market is a wonderful retail incubator for downtown,” said Brankamp.  “Incubator is the perfect word to describe the environment because vendors are clustered together which offers them support, feedback and a customer base that is naturally inclined to support new and unique products.”

In her efforts to bring new retailers downtown, Brankamp has been able to point to the success of previous Pearl Market vendors who have gone on to open permanent retail locations in the area.  These vendors who used the Markets to test and grow their businesses include Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties, Si Senor Sandwiches and More and Take Ten Body Therapy. 

“To test the idea of expanding our retail presence with a Sugardaddy’s downtown store, we leveraged Pearl Market and Capital Crossroads to understand better the downtown customer and the potential fit of Sugardaddy’s in the downtown market, while actually selling our products to new customers,” explained Mark Ballard, co-founder and co-CEO of Sugardaddy’s.  “Moreover, once we made the decision to open a store downtown, we then were able to use the Market to advertise when and where we were opening.  Pearl Market proved to be a tremendous low-cost, low-risk solution to conduct market research, increase sales and advertise our business’ products.”

The Market also offered a landing ground for New Orleans Pralines when their location was closed with the demolition of City Center.  Chandra Noble has maintained her business and customer base through offerings in the Market.

While the closure of City Center altered the face of retail downtown, with the help of ventures like Pearl Market and the commitment of Capital Crossroads SID full-time retail recruitment program, downtown’s future will see more small and locally owned businesses, the very type that Pearl Market can help foster and support.

The Winter Pearl Market is in full swing at its indoor location at 33 N. Third Street.  Stop by on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and check out all there is to offer (but we won’t be there on Friday, November 26).  Here’s a quick video to show you what you’ve been missing.  With all the produce, food items and handmade offerings, you can find great holiday gifts and wonderful local produce to prepare for your holiday guests.

On October 29 the summer Pearl Market closed for the 2010 season, wrapping up another very successful year of bringing fresh, local produce, foods and unique goods to the downtown community.  Over the course of the summer, 58 merchants and 30 farmers peddled their wares in the Pearl and Lynn alleys with spillover on Broad and Gay streets.  The Market operated for 47 days this summer, with an average of 3,500 people exploring its offerings on any given day.  That totals almost 165,000 visits – all from people who enjoy shopping, lunch, entertainment and some fantastic people watching.

Numbers like these reinforce the importance of Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District’s commitment to running the Pearl Market. Our Market Manager, Adam Schroeder, has helped expand the Market’s offerings through outreach to potential farmers and vendors and has improved the Market’s accessibility and visibility.  This year, after a trial run in the 2009-10 Winter Pearl Market, guests of the Market could use credit cards or the Ohio Direction Card to purchase tokens redeemable at almost all Market vendors.  The move from cash-only purchasing made it easier for last-minute shoppers, and the ability to use the Ohio Direction Card opened the Market to a new demographic.  The program was a huge success with over $14,000 in credit card transactions and over $2,400 in Ohio Direction Card/EBT transactions.

Special events and offerings served to boost interest and attendance at the Market.  Five Tasty Tuesdays were held, during which staff prepared recipes featuring Market products and provided samples and copies of the recipes to customers. (If you missed our Tasty Tuesdays, you can still check out the recipes at downtowncolumbus.com/pearlmarket/special-events). The Ohio Proud Mobile Kitchen set up shop in the Market on two occasions.  Area chefs shopped the Market and then prepared some tasty samples for Market customers.  Other special events included the Second Annual Kids’ Day on July 27 in conjunction with COSI, which garnered media attention on all of the major network television stations.  And there was Tomato Day, Strawberry Day, Squash Day, Taste of the Summer Harvest and Taste of the Fall Harvest, all of which featured special recipes and samples of the special ingredient or ingredients of the day.  Plus customers were able to enjoy live entertainment every Market day from a variety of musical guests, which sometimes led to actual dancing in the streets.

Capital Crossroads kicked off the Friends of the Market program this summer to allow fans of the Market to help support daily operations.   Both individual and business Friends of the Market options are available for purchase, benefits of which include a listing on the Pearl Market website and a reusable canvas Pearl Market shopping bag.  By the end of the Summer Market, 30 individuals and one business had signed up to be Friends of the Market. If you are interested in more information or would like to take a peek at our Friends list, visit downtowncolumbus.com/pearlmarket/friends.

The Market received much earned media from newsprint to television all season long.  One of the highlights included Fox 28 reporter, Johnny DiLoretto, who came to the Market and aired his entire morning show live in the alley.  He promoted the Market and interviewed vendors, which was a great way to support the entrepreneurial spirit of the Market vendors.  In addition, Market promotions were enhanced through our marketing and communications channels, including Facebook, Twitter and our weekly Right Now Downtown email blast.  Each vehicle was used to share information on special events and a weekly Market Special was available to Right Now Downtown subscribers.  One of our Market vendors penned a weekly blog post called the Market Maven and we posted a number of videos showing interviews with vendors and highlighting what makes the Market unique.

Though the summer Pearl Market has wrapped up for another year, the Winter Pearl Market is just kicking off. The Winter Market will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. November 2 through February 25 at 33 N. Third Street.

NO CHILL HERE

Grab your shopping list and head to Pearl Market.  But where did it go?  There’s no sign of vendors in Pearl Alley.  Well, keep on walking because it’s just around the corner at 33 North Third Street, right next to Lynn Alley.  Everything moved indoors for the winter, so you don’t even have to hold onto your hat (or your skirt) to keep that alley breeze from blowing you into the next county.

You’ll find some of your favorite farmers and vendors from the summer.  Plus, we’ve rounded up a few new ones too, and just in time since holiday shopping will be here faster than you can say “Ho, Ho, Ho!”  Make it easy on yourself, and come to Pearl Market to check off who’s naughty and nice on your gift-giving list.  The Market is filled with one-of-a-kind handcrafted items that are sure to please everyone.

If you aren’t convinced, check out our video of what you might find indoors at Pearl Market.  Just like always, vendors are ready to go from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays (except the Friday after Turkey Day, November 25), and if that’s not enough, we have some great live entertainment lined up to keep your toes tapping.

The last day of the summer Market was a beautiful day!  Farmers still had large assortments of vegetables.  We got some tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash and it was all fantastic!  We sampled fudge and cupcakes and bread.  We said goodbye to new friends we had met this summer, but it wasn’t too sad because the indoor winter version of the Pearl Market starts Tuesday.  Quite a few of the same vendors will be there along with some new vendors.  It will be located on the west side of Third Street just north of Lynn Alley.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make the summer season a success and here’s hoping the Winter Pearl Market will be a great success too!

It’s getting cold at the Market!  With just one week left for this season’s Pearl Market, I’m trying to fit in all the things I kept telling myself I would try/buy/eat later.  I know that quite a few vendors will be at the Winter Pearl Market, but at this point, I don’t know who and I don’t want to miss anyone.

I don’t want to miss getting a last box of Aboxa Fudge.  I might need a couple more tubes of water beads to get me through the winter.  If I don’t buy that necklace from Salon D’art, I’m going to regret it.  If I don’t buy another bag of kettle corn, where else can I get it fresh?  And all this produce!  I know there won’t be this type of selection in the winter.  I definitely need some more green peppers and hot peppers.  And cucumbers to make cucumber water.  And apples picked from trees not bins.  And on and on and on.  So, before I start to get excited about the Winter Market, I’ve got one week left to make sure I get everything I need.  And so do you.  See you there!

The Winter Pearl Market is coming!  And one of our favorite summer market vendors, New Orleans Pralines, will be joining us indoors.  Check out this video where Chandra Noble talks about her passion for baking and what she likes about being a Pearl Market vendor.

The Market is getting a wee bit smaller as the weather turns cold, but there is still plenty to do and see.  Many vendors are adjusting their businesses accordingly.  One of the food carts is serving piping hot pea soup.  Delicious!  One of our favorite musicians, Bob Piascik, strolled the alley a bit as he played, encouraging a dance party among vendors and visitors alike.  Cupcake Susie made perfect fall cupcakes this week, spiced apple cider and pumpkin honey almond!  Café Brioso always brings plenty of hot coffee that smells so enticing you can’t pass it up.

If you have been down to enjoy the Market this season, then you have probably noticed our fantastic Market staff.  They are always on hand to help and have done a marvelous job with everything from directing traffic when a car has to pass to tents flying away in the wind to capturing it all in pictures.  They are also the reason the Market is continuing.  The Winter Pearl Market has found a location (33 N. Third Street) and is set to begin after the summer Market is over, but we need everyone to come and support it!  Hope to see you soon!

THANKFUL MANNERS

A good guest never arrives at a party empty handed.

If ever there was a fundamental law from the etiquette police, it’d be that one.  Even if your host is named “Mom”, it’s just gracious and grown-up to offer a small token of appreciation for the effort it takes to host a big turkey dinner.

And yes, the Winter Pearl Market has you covered.  Come down to Broad Street (20 E. Broad Street) immediately (Tuesday, 10:30 am – 2 pm) to pick up a very cool, locally made gift of goodie for Thanksgiving.

Honestly, you won’t need a gift guide or advice.  The moment you walk inside the winter market, you’re surrounded with darling things.  It’s a giant maze of wonder.

You might pause for a moment at the collection of ceramics by local artist Nicki Strouss.  Her coffee mugs require close inspection.  No ordinary vessels, the grips on these cups are ergonomically angled to suit the way humans really hold mugs.

Or maybe a crazy bag made from recycled fabrics?  Ethel Jayne Originals takes textiles like rugs and shower curtains and gives them a new life as very edgy satchels for gals AND guys.

Bottle stoppers made from old doorknobs and outdoor faucets can be found at IKC design.

A duct tape pen?  Hand-painted slate?  You really need to stop in to see this stuff.  These goods can’t be found at Walmart.

Of course, edible gifts abound too: pumpkin pies, breads and muffins… and fresh fare from our farmers.  Or perhaps an extra-special olive oil from The Olive Orchard for the gourmand in the kitchen?

We’re thankful to have Pearl Market downtown!