The Star Tribune has an article on the new Bloomington Farmer's market that starts off with this:
The problem isn't that there aren't customers. Bloomington, the latest city to jump on the market bandwagon, drew so many shoppers on its first Saturday earlier this month that many vendors sold out by 8:30 a.m., just 90 minutes after the market opened.
and then preceded with this:
The issue is with vendors. Drawn by that first day's success, almost twice as many sellers -- about 20 -- came the second Saturday. But after the morning rush, it was the flower vendors, the jam guy and the bread seller who were doing gangbuster business. Many farmers who were selling potatoes and zucchini and cucumbers had a lot of produce left at the end of the morning.
This is just plain bad reporting. Does the Star Tribune employ editors anymore?
A new market opens - people are curious and there may be a lot of interest the first or second weeks of opening. Vendors see this and adjust to this and sometimes over adjust to this. In this case the number of vendors doubled (if the Star Tribune is to be believed). And things didn't go as well. Is this enough information to go by to write it off?
I don't think the Twin Cities can support the large number of Farmers Markets appearing on the scene. But what will determine the success or failure of a given market are the customers themselves. Not some reporter who hasn't taken Econ 101.
Note: Original Star Tribune article written by Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380 • smetan@startribune.com