Oh god"mini spray park."
losing the bandstand for a f****** splash pad can go in the record books of terrible trades
just praying that it's something more like CityGarden and not one of these crimes against every designer who's ever lived
If every person who proposed one had to spend hours at any of these with your friends and their kids in the middle of St. Louis summer, they would be outlawed immediately.
For the first time in a few years, I had a chance to go to KC's City Market in the River North area and, as much as I love Soulard, I thought City Market had it beat by a healthy margin. They've managed to take a similarly historic market and create a hybrid of what Soulard is and what the food hall portion of Foundry is trying to be. The farmers market was comparable with similar vendors although at least from a produce standpoint there wasn't much diversity of products. But they've lined the exterior with local food users (minimal seating), added some small shops in the Steamboat museum portion, cleaned up the open walking areas and just made it a more appealing place without compromising the overall vibe. Even with the threat of bad weather, it was packed on Saturday.
Like some have said in this thread, I think there is certainly a way to add to/improve Soulard without disturbing the charm of the market. The one no-brainer would be to open it on Sunday. I've never understood why you would close up shop on what would easily be the second most highly trafficked day of the week.
Like some have said in this thread, I think there is certainly a way to add to/improve Soulard without disturbing the charm of the market. The one no-brainer would be to open it on Sunday. I've never understood why you would close up shop on what would easily be the second most highly trafficked day of the week.
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I think one can argue that Sunday might even have higher foot traffic. On Saturdays it competes with the other popup farmers market in the region. Also I anecdotally am constantly wanting to go on Sunday, only to remember that it's closed. Kind of like Chick Fil A I suppose.
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I wish there was a boiled peanut stand at Soulard Market. Or a boiled peanut stand somewhere in the area.
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Since the city owns the thing I can't imagine it's anything like Ch*** Fil A's religiosity driven closures. Would the vendors be willing to open on a Sunday? If they are, yes, they should absolutely open on a Sunday.GoHarvOrGoHome wrote: ↑Jul 12, 2021I think one can argue that Sunday might even have higher foot traffic. On Saturdays it competes with the other popup farmers market in the region. Also I anecdotally am constantly wanting to go on Sunday, only to remember that it's closed. Kind of like Chick Fil A I suppose.
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Seems like the right time for the city to take some of that $50MM budget surplus and update the Soulard Market.
When you see the success of the Milwaukee Public Market and Columbus' North Market, there is so much potential for Soulard Market and the even the surrounding area. But, past proposals to upgrade the facilities have essentially been met with strong "gentrification" opposition from both the vendors and their customers.JaneJacobsGhost wrote: ↑Feb 09, 2023Seems like the right time for the city to take some of that $50MM budget surplus and update the Soulard Market.
Maybe this is a stupid question but I'm not at Soulard Market much, what's wrong with it?
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The place just looks shoddy. I think it has wonderful vibes and I still like going from time to time, but I'd say that my wife strongly prefers the Tower Grove Farmer's Market and that we end up there far more often.
It wouldn't take all that much to turn Soulard into an epic regional destination. It just needs to be cleaned up, modernized, and utilized better.
It wouldn't take all that much to turn Soulard into an epic regional destination. It just needs to be cleaned up, modernized, and utilized better.
So much potential. Needs the investment to make it the amazing community asset it should be... Currently flying back from Philly after eating lunch at Reading Terminal Market. Love Soulard Market but it cloud be so much more.RockChalkSTL wrote: ↑Feb 09, 2023The place just looks shoddy. I think it has wonderful vibes and I still like going from time to time, but I'd say that my wife strongly prefers the Tower Grove Farmer's Market and that we end up there far more often.
It wouldn't take all that much to turn Soulard into an epic regional destination. It just needs to be cleaned up, modernized, and utilized better.
For context here is the proposal...
2012 Soulard Market Master Plan
And, here is the opposition...
Vendors resistant to potential change for St. Louis' Soulard Market
I think this is a key point in the article, that remains true today... "Few Soulard vendors actually grow what they sell... 'There were hundreds of farmers there when I was a kid,' said Lenard Chartand, one of the farmers who sells at Soulard. 'I'm the only one left.'
2012 Soulard Market Master Plan
And, here is the opposition...
Vendors resistant to potential change for St. Louis' Soulard Market
I think this is a key point in the article, that remains true today... "Few Soulard vendors actually grow what they sell... 'There were hundreds of farmers there when I was a kid,' said Lenard Chartand, one of the farmers who sells at Soulard. 'I'm the only one left.'
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How does a renovation plan even get started? Is it something an alderman would have to start? It desperately needs a revamp, one of our best assets.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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The GM has a plan and ideas, he lets the parks and rec Director know and it’s up to the mayor and BOA to fund it. And the GM is fine with the city not wanting to fund it but he would like at least a grant writer position allocated so that they can go after bunch of grants that are out there for these things.
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Since the City leaders clearly aren’t focused on making this better they should turn it over to a nonprofit set up something like Forest Park Forever.
Probably because there's vendors down there selling bananas and pineapples like they were locally grown. TGFM and the other farmers markets have way more local vendors.RockChalkSTL wrote: ↑Feb 09, 2023The place just looks shoddy. I think it has wonderful vibes and I still like going from time to time, but I'd say that my wife strongly prefers the Tower Grove Farmer's Market and that we end up there far more often.
It wouldn't take all that much to turn Soulard into an epic regional destination. It just needs to be cleaned up, modernized, and utilized better.
It's still a fun way to kill an hour or two to stroll with a bloody mary, but it is a shell of what it was when I was a child. I also agree on merging it into a nonprofit as someone else suggested. It needs a vision and new soul.
I also do agree it's a fine line of gentrifying (probably not the right word, but in spirit) the market. It just needs a stronger mix. I don't want it to turn into a whole foods experience but when you have TGFM going on at the same time as some of Soulard's prime hours, you're not commanding the attention of your customers. And missing density in visits.
Yep - that right there is the problem with the Soulard Farmers Market. TGFM is more expensive but most things there are actually locally sourced. At Soulard you'll be buying fruit from Guatemala and meat from Argentina.
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^Soulard market isn't really a "farmer's market" in the modern gentrified sense. It's a simple classic produce market. The vendors are smaller and more local, maybe, but they get their produce from produce row. It's kind of nice that it helps keeps produce row in business, really. I'd love to see the thing fixed up a bit, but I hope it never becomes Tower Grove.
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Anecdotal evidence and only my own experiences of course, so your mileage may vary, but the few times we went to the Soulard Farmer's Market the produce we purchased went bad within 24 hours. Not sure if the vendors didn't store their items correctly before taking it to the Market or if the produce was simply old. But I agree with many of the comments above - we switched to the TGFM and had much better experiences.
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Well the market isn't exactly climate controlled. Storing the fruit open air for 8 hours on a 95 degree St. Louis summer day will screw up produce fast.
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The Tower Grove Farmer's Market isn't climate-controlled, either.
It's just a better shopping experience than Soulard, though it really shouldn't be.
It's just a better shopping experience than Soulard, though it really shouldn't be.
Yeah it still has some charm but it is a shell of its former self, I think there are only 2 real farms in the market at this point. Would be great to see a renovation or something like that, there are a lot of areas that could be improved.