A Day at the Jacksonville Farmer's Market

[Metro Jacksonville]

A Day at the Jacksonville Farmer's Market



Nearly two years after Metro Jacksonville pushed to move this local institution downtown, The Jacksonville Farmer's Market continues to remain one of the urban core's most popular destinations.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/971

[Coolyfett]

They need a bigger sign in the air. Something very very very high so everyone downtown can see it. I wouldnt use Beaver Street at all. Id send people down Church to Acorn...and then use Beaver Street.

[uptowngirl]

The farmers market rocks, we go at least once a week! You can not beat the prices and the produce is excellent.

Cooly- what is worng with Beaver?

The coffee shop across the street is pretty dang good too, nice coffee and tea selection.

[tpot]

I do use the Jacksonville Farmers Market but I must say I was spoiled by the Farmers Market in Columbia, SC...That Farmers Market blows this one away

[jbm32206]

I happen to go there often too, and love it. Yes, other cities have bigger farmer markets and many have more markets...but the one on Beaver Street is a nice one too.

As for Beaver Street itself, I use it all the time...it's a great way to avoid the highway and gives you a straight shot from downtown to the westside

[copperfiend]

Peyton Mafia?

[vicupstate]

Another fine example of a huge missed opportunity. 

If the money spent on that never-opened, horribly located Seafood restaurant in LaVilla had been spent to bring this market to DT, it would be there.   And the elected official that had actually pushed the idea would look like a genius, because it would have been a success, and  DT would have a seven day activity generator.  Not to mention many people that wouldn't go to Beaver St would have become customers.

What a waste.

 

[TPC]

What are the hours?

[vicupstate]

Theres no need to destroy a successful sustained business, when there is vacate land galore already available. [edit; a previous post was deleted ]

I would put this Farmer's Market somewhere on the Northbank Riverwalk.  Possible choices would be the Landing parking lot east of the Main St. bridge, the area covered by the Fuller Warren bridge, or the existing Riverwalk parking lot off Riverside Ave. Ideally, it would be incorporated into a revamped Landing or within short walking distance of it, to create 'snergy' with the Landing and the Riverwalk.

Getting really creative, incorporate the market with a new YMCA rebuit on it's current site.  The Y needs a new facilty and has a pretty big parcel close to the existing riverwalk parking lot.   Open a restaurant in conjunction with the Y, using foods purchased from the market.  Combination Health Clubs/restaurants are popping up everywhere.   





         

[UglyBilly]

I love the farmer's market here!!  I go here every Saturday!  They could use a larger sign or perhaps a commercial or two on tv for more promotion.

Here's there website http://www.jaxfarmersmarket.com/news.asp

[stug]

Sorry, Vic, but why not leave the market where it is? Did you ever think that perhaps the people in THAT neighborhood appreciate the commericial traffic the market generates.
It's not the nicest area in the world, so why move something that creates commerce and positive traffic ... to let it deteriorate completely?

And why does the Y need a new facility? That place is practically brand new inside. I always thought it was really nice, especially compared to some of the smaller Ys in Jacksonville.

[stjr]

What are the hours?

The Farmers Market never closes. It's open every day of the year.  As a practical matter, most wholesaling (sales to suburban stands and vendors, restaurants, etc.) activity takes place between 4 AM and about 10 AM.  Then, the retailing predominates until the end of the later of the end of daylight or about 6 to 7 PM.  Many vendors will stay open as long as customers are present but each vendor makes their own decision.  If you want to avoid busier days, Monday through Wednesday are the lighter days.

The Jacksonville market is unique because it is both wholesale and retail, is open all day, and is open every day of the year.  With the volume, it needs access for semi's and delivery trucks as well as a good bit of acreage.  Also, retail customers like the drive-in feature to load their vehicles with their often bulky and heavy purchases.  This means a parking space is needed for every customer. Pedestrian access is good but most customers won't want to walk any distance with anything more than a minor purchase.  Then, there is the frequent need to haul off any spoiled produce, boxes, etc.  To accommodate all this, it is nearly impossible to place the market as it currently operates in a downtown setting.

Its current location is excellent because (1) it is easily accessed from I-95 (Union/King/Beaver exits and entrances) and I-10 (Stockton) which draws vendors and people from all of Northeast Florida, South Georgia, and the Carolinas, (2) it is central to the entire region (3) it helps to serve a neighborhood with no grocery stores in sight, (3) for 70 years people have been coming to this location and would likely be lost looking for it somewhere else, (4) provides 4 lane access on probably the least congested major artery in all of Jax in Beaver Street (U.S. 90), (5) provides jobs and business opportunities to area residents much in need of same, and (6) is located within both an enterprise and empowerment zone looking to attract commerce.

By the way, over the years, much of Beaver Street has been cleared or redeveloped (LaVilla development, Shiloh Church, Load King, Beaver Street Fisheries, Main Recycling, Preferred Freezers, Jacksonville Farmers Market, new and wider via duct over the railroad tracks, to name a few) resulting in the neighborhood facing Beaver Street being much improved.  Old impressions die hard but times are "a-changin."  If our City leaders would push FDOT to properly upgrade Beaver Street to the federal standards (including making it full width) of a U.S. road with landscaped medians like the rest of town, the whole neighborhood would blossom overnight with added commerce due to increased traffic.  But due to being forever relegated to Cinderella status, it remains the ugly duckling awaiting an appreciative audience.

[GatorDone]

The rule of thumb on hours is dawn to dusk, there is however no set hours.

I also believe it is unfair of Metro Jax to put up a picture of a building that says "WELCOME TO HELL PEYTON MAFIA" as that building has no affiliation with the Farmers Market and actually sits across the street, however, the lack of subtitles implies it does.

[thelakelander]

Stjr is right in that this type of market works best in a more industrial type setting.  When we bought up the possibility of relocating it closer to downtown (before the new sheds were built), LaVilla and the warehouse area adjacent to I-95 (off Beaver) were the locations suggested.  Both offered better access to I-95, higher visibility and a stronger connection with DT.  It could have served as a central anchor in a district full of vacant warehouses that could have become spaces for additional wholesale purposes (ie. the district around Detroit's Eastern Market).  The current location does not have the amount of available building fabric around it for something like this to develop.

Nevertheless, the new sheds have been built and the place is still a top inner city destination.  Personally, I believe if the city ever moves forward with the development of a DT streetcar system, a part of a line should run west from DT to the market.  That would also provide a strong link and stimulate redevelopment in the Beaver Street Warehouse District.

As for the Peyton Mafia sign, name aside, its one of the few available buildings adjacent to the market.  Its an ideal spot for a completing wholesale operation to go in (the image also has a big for sale sign in the front of it).  At Metro Jax, we preach the importance of connectivity and integration with surrounding properties.  So even when we present photo tours of a specific destination, we typically include a shot or two of nearby scenery that can be seen from the destination site.  That building and a Beaver Street viaduct skyline/railyard view are included in this photo tour. 

[simms3]

The first photo with the "Dawgs" stand affirms that there are more GA fans here in "S GA" than in Atl.  It just baffles me how so many people here devote their lives to UGA.  I live in Atl now and people there are more concerned with advancing their life monetarily and through other means, but people here are more fed up on UGA and other things than ever.  I guess the only redeeming factor in my book is that both Atl and here are conservative areas lol.  BTW I think this is a good farmer's market and there is a good seafood place a mile or so west on Beaver.