Taking root in downtown Phoenix
Homegrown market cultivates local growers
BY BETH SHAPIRO
There is a down-to-earth urban oasis in downtown Phoenix. It sits in a parking
lot, nestled between storefronts and high rises, in the shadow of the historic
Westward Ho Hotel at the southeast corner of Central Avenue and McKinley. You
might miss the Downtown Phoenix Public Market if you whiz through the traffic
lights down Central, but you shouldn't.
You'd miss the vibrant colors of locally grown carrots, beets and heirloom tomatoes; the chance to prepare your Sunday omelet with fresh free-range eggs; and the enjoyment of sitting with a cool glass of herbal lemonade at the outdoor cafe while listening to live music.
For more than two years, the market, named best outdoor market by Phoenix New Times in 2005 and 2006, has been abuzz with a cross-section of people who gather to sell locally grown and produced foods, arts and crafts and other wares to the loyal customers and newcomers - about 50,000 each year - who crowd the market every Saturday morning.
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon says the market is an "undiscovered treasure" that brings vibrancy to downtown. He chose the market as his top pick for favorite local places during Local First Arizona's Independents week in July.
"For years, Phoenix has been seen as sort of lifeless," says Gordon. "Now we're seeing cranes, new condos, Arizona State University Downtown, restaurants and nightclubs springing up. You just feel good seeing people milling around talking and picking out fresh vegetables."
Cindy Gentry established the nonprofit market in 2005 as a program of Community Food Connections, which she founded in 2002 after serving with the Association of Arizona Food Banks (AAFB) for more than 15 years. Gentry, a passionate advocate for alleviating hunger, hoped the market would "address hunger that went beyond the emergency food assistance programs."
While she was with AAFB, she learned firsthand from Arizona growers why perfectly good produce never made it to the mouths of the hungry.
"(When) there was a downturn in the market due to the weather or due to their crops being irregularly shaped, they couldn't sell what they had grown, so they had to throw it away," explains Gentry. Frustrated, she spearheaded a way for the AAFB to collect the rejected food as donations and distribute it to the 900,000 children and adults who go hungry in Arizona every year.
Gentry envisioned the market as a "showcase for local agriculture" and a way for "people to eat better and have healthier choices."
She knew downtown would be a great venue when she read a newspaper article laying out the goals for the future of the city - create more jobs, provide educational opportunities, offer unique retail and create pedestrian linkages.
"I thought, 'Voila! Our market can do all of those things.' "
In 2004, Gentry presented her vision for the market to the executive committee of Phoenix Community Alliance, a nonprofit group dedicated to revitalizing downtown, made up of key movers and shakers in the business community.
Committee member Kurt Schneider, president of L.D. Schneider & Associates, a real estate development firm, and owner of two city blocks on Central Avenue between Garfield and Pierce streets, listened to Gentry's pitch and offered his land at Central Avenue and Garfield Street.
"It was basically a parking lot that wasn't being used. There was really no risk on my part. That's how it all started."
Gentry's labor of love has also been bolstered by other private donors and governmental, corporate and nonprofit agencies, including a $15,000 grant from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.
Gentry says that an indoor market open six days a week is slated to open in December.
"We've entered into a five-year-lease agreement (with Schneider) for a 4,000-square-foot building that he owns across the alley from the market. We will have our vendors represented with their groceries and prepared foods, baked goods and gelato, coffee bar, and a wine and beer bar, too."
Schneider believes the market will be a success. "It's something that's needed down there. Just their gross sales since they started have been incredibly encouraging."
Help with the design of the indoor market will come from Dan Hoffman, principal in the Phoenix architectural firm of Studio Ma and professor of architecture in ASU's College of Design.
"I think the market will do more for the development of downtown and make it more attractive than the multi-million dollar projects," says Hoffman. "The market can provide the catalyst for the viable urban neighborhood. This is something that will draw people who will want to live near it."
The market was recently recognized as "best urban redevelopment effort" in Phoenix Magazine's Best of the Valley issue (August 2007).
Nan Ellin, director of ASU's Urban and Metropolitan Studies program, points out that cities historically have emerged through markets. "All cities needed to have markets to survive socially and economically," she says.
Ellin predicts that the market will play a larger role as the city's downtown resident population rises rapidly from 8,000 to a projected 50,000 residents over the next 30 years.
Recently, Gentry hired Carol Blonder as director of resources and development to develop the indoor market. Blonder, who has lived in the Valley for about seven years and received a culinary arts diploma from Scottsdale Community College, established a kosher catering business after working at local eateries like Arcadia Farms and Café Bistro.
Blonder will be setting up a prepared food area, creating a menu, sourcing and procuring ingredients and overseeing what goes into the store. She also plans to coordinate special events, including chef demonstrations, cookbook author evenings and tastings.
"When you look at (Judaism)," Blonder says, "the laws of kashrut are not only about what we put in our bodies but how we share the table." She says it will be wonderful for traditional Jews who observe Shabbat to experience the market when it expands.
Phoenix-based Simply Bread, whose products are certified kosher, plans to join the market this fall, according to Harold Back, the company's president. "Its motivation is to support local growers and agricultural interests," says Back. "It's a chance for the community to support fresher, high quality products that don't have chemicals or additives, (which) will improve the quality of life for everyone."
Gentry is proud of the market's success and particularly of its positive effect on vendors, referring to some who have been able to quit their day jobs as a result.
"What amazes me is watching the vendors growing their inventories and their capacity. They are living out their passion."
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Fill your basket to the brim
- What: Downtown Phoenix Public Market
- Where: Southeast corner of Central Avenue and McKinley Street, Phoenix
- When: 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays, rain or shine; 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Wednesdays, starting
- Oct. 24 through April
- Payment: Cash, credit card, food stamps and AZ Farmers Market Nutrition program
checks
- Parking: Free