Midtown Farmers Market expands along K Street in Sacramento with plans to add more vendors

The Midtown Farmers Market, bustling and busy as ever this Saturday afternoon, launched an expansion along K Street, yet another sign of Sacramento’s emergence from coronavirus restrictions.

John Adair, director of BID Services and communications for the Midtown Association, said the turnout on the first day of the expanded market was better than normal. Part of that could be attributed to the increase in space, and part of it could be the increasingly warm, clear weather.

But, partly, more and more people are willing to gather outside as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted across the region and more people are vaccinated.

“It’s a general feeling of momentum and positivity that we’re continuing to have as places reopen,” Adair said. “If the shoppers are here and they want to be a part of this, and we have the ability to work with the city and public works to figure out the street closures, why not help support the local businesses?”

Coinciding with a surge in patronage from shoppers eager to leave their homes and enjoy the weather after months stuck indoors, market organizers decided to add shopping space on K Street from 19th and 21st streets in addition to the usual market area along 20th Street. Adair estimated that about 2,000 shoppers likely showed up on Saturday, compared with the normal 1,500 that the market typically sees on sunny spring days.

“It’s just become this thing to do here in the central city and Lavender Heights,” he said. The combination of easing economic restrictions and beautiful California sun has become “a perfect storm in a good way.”

Growing to accommodate 130 vendors

While normally able to accommodate 90 or so vendors, the newly expanded farmers market will be able to fit about 130 — and even more if future expansions are approved. Potentially, Adair said, the market could fit up to 150 vendors in total.

The expansion of the Midtown Farmers Market came on the heels of another beloved market’s exit from Sacramento’s central grid. The Certified Farmers Market was forced to temporarily relocate from its spot beneath the W-X freeway at Southside Park to Arden Fair mall last month, much to the chagrin of some dedicated patrons.

However, Adair said, the midtown market’s expansionary ambitions were already in place well ahead of the Certified Farmers Market’s move.

Having been operating for months with extra spacing for social distancing, and with more vendors hoping to join the Saturday market, Adair said expansion was the best solution.

“This expansion is something we’ve been looking at as this year has progressed ... It became a little bit compacted in terms of the street closures, in terms of keeping safety protocols in place,” Adair said. “When we had a lot of requests and demand for small businesses and farmers that wanted to come out and share their produce and share their local products, we wanted to try to find a space for them.”

‘We’re glad to be out and about’

Christopher Boone Argyros of Boone’s Red Onions is certainly glad to have the increased foot traffic. His business, which specializes in pickled onions, is still in its fledgling stages. He started selling at the Midtown Farmers Market and the Wednesdays at Winn market about four months ago, and was recently awarded a grant by the Midtown Association meant to bolster businesses owned by historically underrepresented groups. That’s helped, but it’s still been a difficult journey getting started as a street vendor.

“I have to be honest with you, this is a tough gig,” Argyros said. “It does seem like the market is really picking up. There’s more and more people and that’s just great for the vendors.”

He’s excited for the potential windfall that the expansion could bring to the market. One thing he noticed this Saturday was several unfamiliar faces, brought to the market for the first time after hearing the news of the expansion — a good omen of improving business.

Henry and Joanne Gabaldon were two among those new faces. Henry said they’d never been to the midtown market, but came out specifically to see what the expansion was all about.

His wife Joanne added that they haven’t felt particularly comfortable in big crowds for a while, but they’ve both recently gotten their COVID-19 vaccinations, so now are venturing out once more.

“We’re glad to be out and about,” she said.