Farmers Market finds a new home

Dan Kulin

Friday, July 25, 2003 | 9:19 a.m.

A local farmers market is coming back to Henderson in September, but instead of returning to downtown, the weekly crafts and fresh food bazaar will be in the parking lot at the Galleria at Sunset mall.

The Thursday afternoon market had been a downtown staple for more than four years, starting in a plaza next to City Hall, with a few weeks spent in the Henderson Convention Center during a cold spell one winter. Once an expansion began at City Hall the market was moved to the other end of Water Street.

But the outdoor market required the closure of part of Water Street, the main downtown thoroughfare, and that eventually drew criticism from neighboring businesses, city and market officials said.

Judee Foster, owner of the Birds R Us Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Water Street, said that while the farmers market was a good idea, it had become a problem for downtown businesses because market vendors' vehicles often blocked their front doors.

Michelle Romero, city redevelopment coordinator, also said there were safety concerns with the farmers market on a busy city street, even if the street was partially closed.

The market's last day on Water Street was June 19.

Jo Lyn Fuhriman, who ran the market for the city, said that at first she and the vendors were upset with having to leave downtown, but now it seems to have worked out for the better.

"We were upset because Henderson was the first," Fuhriman said, adding that since Henderson's farmers market started, several others have sprung up in the area, including three she either owns or runs through her Country Fresh Farmers Markets.

The markets generally feature fresh produce from California as well as jewelry, flowers, and candles. Fuhriman is also a market vendor selling European and flavored breads.

"I think it's working out for the best," she said. "We'll be in Henderson and at a better location for my vendors."

Fuhriman said she expects the vendors will see more foot traffic at the mall.

Foster said she and other downtown business owners who had complained about the market didn't want it to move out of downtown entirely, just to a better location.

The market started as a city-sponsored event intended to draw people downtown, Romero said. Now that the market seems to have developed a following, Romero said the market is being turned over to Fuhriman.

"The goal of the redevelopment agency was to get the business up and running and we did," Romero said.

The market will be in the mall parking lot beginning in early September, though an exact date hasn't been determined, Fuhriman said.

She said she held off on restarting the market during the hot summer months, which are typically the slowest months.

"It's just too hot," she said.