New building in the Railyard will be a permanent location
Now, finally, people will know where the farmers market is.
With the official opening Tuesday of the Santa Fe Farmers Market’s new $4.8 million building in the Railyard, facing Paseo de Peralta, no one has to keep track of its moves to and from various parking lots all over town.
But it may take customers awhile to figure out where to park.
“Everyone will have to find the parking garage on Saturday,” said George Gundrey, executive director of the market, since Saturdays attract so many more people. “No glitches today, but I think it will be more glitchy on Saturday.”
The new underground parking garage — next to the under-construction REI store, reached by turning into the parking lot of El Museo Cultural and continuing straight — holds 450 spaces. On Tuesday, while traffic sometimes slowed to a standstill on Paseo de Peralta, shoppers managed to find places to park in a new lot across the street from the market and another behind Warehouse 21.
“They see it better here, on the street,” said farmer Matt Romero of Dixon, who manned a booth packed with shoppers outside the new build- ing. “If you know anything about CCA (Center for Contemporary Arts), you weren’t even sure the market was there until you got there,” he said, referring to the market’s temporary Tuesday location. On Saturdays this summer, the market has been held in the parking lot of the PERA building.
Sa rah Noss, execut ive director of the Farmers Market Institute, said she was impressed by the number of both shoppers and vendors who came to the market Tuesday just to celebrate the opening day.
That’s why Dixon garlic farmer Stan Crawford, who doesn’t normally sell on Tuesdays, was there.
“From ’97 to 2000, I was project director for Friends of the Farmers Market,” said Crawford. “When I left, the committee wasn’t sure if they wanted a building or not. We certainly had design studies. I’ve been inside a couple of the previous market buildings — at El Museo and the old place near Healy-Matthews — and compared to them, this is heaven.”
Crawford said that, even though he didn’t have a good selection of produce Tuesday, he covered his expenses because of the number of shoppers.
“It’s not like a Saturday, but it’s better than a usual Tuesday,” said Tom Delehanty, who raises “premier pastured poultry” under his Pollo Real label in Socorro. Delehanty has been in Socorro for 15 years, but his family has farmed in Wisconsin for 170 years.
“It’s the permanence that’s going to make a difference,” Delehanty said. “Already I’m seeing new faces — people I’ve never seen at a Tuesday market. This is like a piece of land. We’ve created this for our children and their children.”
Gundrey said there were 36 vendors Tuesday in the spacious 10,000-square-foot building but that he expects up to 100 Saturday. The Tuesday market will run through October and begin again in mid-May 2009. “Saturday market never ends,” Gundrey said. “In November it goes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the building. We usually take the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s off.”
Jim Shortle, owner of Foreign Auto Service Technicians, was at the Tuesday market with his wife to buy “everything possible” — vegetables, fruits and chickens. “I think it’s worth it in health benefits, where you spend less money down the road on health problems,” he said.
But it wasn’t just locals who were visiting and appreciating the new building.
Ray Chavez of Dallas, who was visiting relatives in Santa Fe, said Dallas has a farmers market with its own building, but it’s not open on Tuesdays.
Carol Bronstein with the Intergalactic Bread Company said, “It’s been a lot of locals and tourists today. There were some people who said, ‘So how long have you been here?’ and I said, ‘Uh, two hours.’ They didn’t know it was a new building.”
If You Go
The Santa Fe Farmers Market is now open 7 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and Saturdays at its new building, 1607 Paseo de Peralta. You can reach the new underground parking garage, next to REI, by turning into the parking lot of El Museo Cultural (a street now called Camino de la Familia) and continuing straight, or from Guadalupe by turning onto West Manhattan Avenue. You also can park in lots near Site Santa Fe and behind Warehouse 21. On Saturdays, Railyard parking is a flat $1 rate until noon; after noon, it’s an additional $2. On Tuesdays, regular rates are $1.80 an hour in the underground parking facility, $1 an hour at the meters. Not all the meters are installed yet.
The market’s official dedication is set for 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, to mark the fall harvest. Market officials hope to hear this fall whether the building will receive Silver certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Building Council. For information, go to www.santafefarmersmarket.com or call 983-4098.
