Now that the state fair is behind us, the agriculture spotlight returns to the CNY Regional Market.
“We’ve done a lot of work inside to make sure all the lights work, the doors open and close correctly," said market CEO Bill Fisher.
He said they’re trying to keep up with the smaller things that can make a bigger difference for visitors.
“Better traffic patterns, better signage, better wayfinding, all of these things enhance the customer experience, get them coming back again and again," Fisher said. "We're already starting to see growth in the Sunday market and the Thursday market, and we're pretty much at capacity on Saturdays.”
He said the food truck rodeo on Thursday evenings is building a following. A classic car group recently joined the fun as well, along with other pop-up events. But the market also has its eye on larger, transformative projects. Fisher said funding is in place to replace the outdated commission houses for freshly picked produce.
“We're finalizing the design of a 40,000 square foot cold storage warehouse building that's very modern, very compliant with all the state and federal food chain requirements," he said. "There will also be a co-op in there that lets farmers come in, and using equipment, doing more to add value to the food and not just have it be commodity.”
Fisher hopes to move all of the produce companies to the new building within the next two years. He added that the market is also looking for businesses that might consider expanding or moving in.
“We've got companies like Byrne Dairy that are very interested in growing here. That wouldn't be with government-finance. That would be with their own investments," he said. "And over time, to really get the multiplier effect, to get the private sector to understand there are opportunities here on our property in the neighborhoods.”
Byrne Dairy already operates a cold-storage facility on market property.
The market is working with the city and county to connect to nearby neighborhoods. Safety upgrades to sidewalks and crosswalks could be more inviting to customers and spark more investment on the city's north side.
