Wed 3/15 @ 11:30AM
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the lost potential of Cleveland’s historic 100-plus-year-old West Side Market. No longer the shipping mecca for babushka’d immigrant wives, it’s now located in a sea of gentrification, with luxury apartments going up on all sides — and it’s become run down, not the sort of place a twenty-something who can afford $3000 a month for rent is going to be attracted to.
Luckily, Mayor Bibb has recognized the need for change at the city-owned facility and is in the process of transitioning it to nonprofit management while consulting with experts to create a plan and locate the resources to execute it. The challenge will be to retain the market’s traditional roots, based in small, local, independent businesses selling meats, seafood, produce, dairy products, baked good, pastas, herbs and spices, and more, while upgrading it to appeal to today’s shoppers and making it a destination without becoming slick or generic.
Mayor Bibb will host a forum at the City Club called “Public Markets as Community Anchors,” addressing the challenges and possibilities of the West Side Market. It features panelists from public markets across the country who’ll share the history, challenges and successes of their markets: Dan Carmody, CEO of Detroit’s Eastern Market Corporation; Kelly Lanser of Cincinnati’s Findlay Market; and Robert Thomas, former executive director of Baltimore Public Markets.
The forum will be livestreamed starting at noon. If you have questions you can tweet @TheCityClub or text 330-541-5794.
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