I stopped by the Glendale Open Air Market on Saturday. I was disappointed with not only where it was, but the lack of vendors. The market was in the parking lot next to A Mad Hatter's. I'm not sure why the planners think this is a good spot, but in my opinion it should be located in a more central area that is near as many storefronts as possible. Murphy Park or on 58th Drive between Palmaire and Myrtle would be much better locations. Closing off 58th Drive and having the Open Air Market here sets a wonderful tone for the event amongst the white picket fences and mature shade trees welcoming visitors to the Bungalows-turned-specialty shops, and Old Towne boasting brick-trimmed sidewalks and glowing gaslights. I got the last line from the Glendale Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The lack of vendors was also disappointing. There was next to nothing as far as food vendors go. I didn't see any agricultural produce or prepared food items typically present at more established markets.
Hopefully it will grow more popular and the vendor base will expand to include more food products and services. The Blue Myrtle House will eventually compliment this event or fill the niche the Glendale Open Air Market fails to meet. My hope is the Glendale Open Market becomes a raging success and a west valley alternative to the Phoenix Public Market.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am not someone who usually posts to bogs, but after reading this one, I felt I needed to take a moment to respond.
I was a bit surprised that you chose to write about your disapointment with this event, the poor location and the lack of vendors and food/produce.
First of all, I'm not sure if you realize this event was organized, permitted and run by some of the local merchants in the area. So your comments about how disappointed you were is a slap to those folks who in the near future you may wish to have support and a partnership with.
I guess I would ask if you happened to stop and talk with the person who hosted this event? I'm guessing not as you would have found out that this was the first one of these events hosted in quite some time. You would have found out that every booth space offered was sold and occupied and I don't believe it was ever advertised as a farmers market; rather it was titled an "Open air market"
As for the lack of food vendors, the thought was that this event should direct folks to the wonderful local restaurants in the area. If your future plans are to have a coffee shop, (this would be the fourth coffee shop in a nine block shopping area) I can’t help but wonder if you might prefer any events direct folks to your coffee shop or if you would you rather have an outside coffee vendor set up a booth?
As I read your blog, there were so many assumptions. You talk about thinking this spot was a bad location. I guess the proof of good or bad is based on the comments from the actual vendors who paid to place a booth in this location. (They vendors were very pleased and asked to be invited back for future events) You talk of shutting down streets for this event, and it’s a wonderful idea, my question to you is how would you fund the police officers and the signage required to shut down the streets? To place an event in the park requires multiple permits once again requiring special permits and costs.
If I had one suggestion, I would suggest you become involved with the merchant group that meets once a month, it is comprised of merchants from both the Downtown and Catlin Court. This group has several items in the hopper for the future and we would more than welcome you attending. It might help you to better understand why some events are smaller in nature than what any of us might wish.
I hope in the future, before you post about how disappointed you are with an event you take the time to talk with the folks who did the work. Maybe in doing so, you would understand why a particular location, scope, product was offered. In addition you might have found out that the folks you are so disappointed with today, may be the same folks that could help direct business to you in the future.
I wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing you at our meetings...
Bud
Dan,
ReplyDeleteFirst, kudos to you for posting my original reply to your blog, there are some bloggers who only post comments that agree with the comments they posted.
Thank you for the links, and I'm not here to spit hairs on open air verses flee market, the biggest open air market that I know of is in Torrance California, http://www.yelp.com/biz/roadium-open-air-market-torrance-2 and although I don't think the intent is to be like this event, (a swap-meet) this event is also called an open air market.
I've attached one of the links where the folks (merchant group) who put this event on, asked for vendors http://www.yelp.com/events/glendale-open-air-market-in-historic-downtown-glendale As you can see, the request did include a request for food vendors as well...
Moving on though, I will get you more information on our next merchant meeting. Although you are at this point, only a property owner, my understanding is that in the future your intent is to be both a merchant and a property owner. I think your attending these meetings could be beneficial to all of us. It would allow you to meet and hear what the merchants are doing both individually and collectively, and a set of fresh eyes and ears is beneficial to the group as whole.
In these tough financial times, working together as a group allows us to get the biggest bang for our marketing and creative dollars. (LOL)
In addition to networking, most often there is an education component as well. As a matter of fact, several months ago, the City of Glendale's Counterfeit Money Officer came to our meeting and showed us how to detect counterfeit bills, provided us with handouts on all the new and improved things we should be looking for in our bills. This seminar led to the arrest of a shopper who tried to pass counterfeit bills to one of our downtown merchants. The meetings are usually first thing in the morning (8:00) and do not last more than 90 minutes.
And lastly, I don't know if you have reached out to or met with the folks for the City of Glendale Convention and Visitors Bureau. Specifically Lorraine Pino or Terry Williams. If you have not, these folks are a great resource and do wonderful things to help market the area for us. Everything from Live TV hits and news print to inclusion on the city website.
Many of the merchants have also become members of the CVB. Lorraine (who has a passion for downtown and Catlin Court) created a special pricing for the folks in this particular area. The $150 per year membership fee get you advance listings on the CVB website, multiple networking events and a host of other services. The Glendale CVB actually represents 13 cities on the west side, from Glendale to Wickenburg.
Just talking for Bud, 11 sales have come as a direct result of my shop being listed on the CVB website. I'm sure there are others who don't remember where they saw my ad... (Paid for my membership 7 times over)
Here is the contact information for Lorraine in case you don't have it... 623-930-2955 If you have not met her, I will be the first one to tout her skills and her passion for the merchants in this area.
Thanks again, and I wish you continued luck and quick build time as you move forward.
Feel free to stop by my shop anytime and say hello.
And, since this is more of a conversation between you and me, no insult will be taken if you don't post this reply on your blog... LOL
Bud
The Glendale Shoe Company
5750 W Glendale Ave