Friday, June 2, 2006

'Mini' may be better for public market shops

By MATT WICKENHEISER, Portland Press Herald Writer

A Monument Square building may emerge as a "mini-public market," even as the Portland Public Market enters its final days, according to the head of Portland's Downtown District.

Jan Beitzer, the district's executive director, said she's been working with the four current and past tenants of the public market who plan to move into the building that was occupied by the Surplus Store until 2004. The storefront has been vacant since then.

Maine 's Department of Agriculture has awarded the district a $20,000 planning grant, a step toward relocating the public market concept to Monument Square . The four vendors are Maine Beer & Beverage Co., K. Horton's Specialty Foods, A Country Bouquet and Big Sky Bakery.

However, officials hope many more businesses selling Maine products will move into the space, possibly occupying carts, Beitzer said.

"If it's done right, it will be just as much a draw for tourists (as the Portland Public Market was)," said Beitzer. "Tourists want authenticity. They want to hear about Smiling Hill ice cream or Beal's ice cream, as opposed to Ben & Jerry's."

Monument Square today is a hot dining area, with a steady stream of business from nearby lawyers, bankers and other businesspeople at lunchtime. And with a number of downtown condos going on the market soon, the area surrounding the "Our Lady of Victories" statue may experience an economic surge that goes beyond a cluster of restaurants and lunch carts.

The spot is perfect for a mini-public market, said Beitzer, not just because of the condos, but also because a farmers' market is held at Monument Square on Wednesdays.

"There's no question it would be a great addition to Monument Square ," said Lee Urban, director of Portland 's Department of Planning and Development. "The synergy . . . between the farmers' market and the public market can't do anything but be a positive thing."

The Monument Square move became public Wednesday, the same day that an unidentified investment group signed an agreement to acquire the Libra Foundation's real estate holdings in downtown Portland . Libra officials said the new owners have no interest in continuing the Portland Public Market, which is one of the holdings being sold.

The sale is expected to close within 60 days.

Beitzer said she thought the Monument Square building could hold 20 small vendors. The group plans to install a commercial kitchen, which small entrepreneurs could use to support their carts, Beitzer said.

News that at least four shops from the public market planned to move into a vacant store was a "home run" for the Monument Square area, said David Turin, owner of David's Creative Cuisine.

Of course, the "grand slam" would have been if someone had figured out how to make the current market successful, he said.

"I think they'll do better here than there," said Turin . "The public market is just enough out of the way that you don't see it."

David's has been in the square for seven years, and business is good, Turin said. Revenue last year was up 70 percent over the year before, he said.

"I think it's a good idea," said James Mahoney of Yarmouth , as he sat at a table outside Zarra's Monumental Coffee House with Paul Johnson of Falmouth . "There's a lot of new condos going on down here."

Added Johnson, "Any business that survived three or four years in the public market has got to be doing something right."

Having other local businesses - not chains - in the area would benefit the square, said Michael Roylos, owner of two carts there, the Spartan Grill and Harbor Scoops.

Roylos said business has been slow, and he hoped filling the vacant storefront with vendors would help draw traffic through the square. His only concern, Roylos said, was that the presence of the new tenants would affect where he could set up his carts.

Pamela Dodson, a Congress Street resident taking a stroll with her toddler daughter, Hedwig, said she often shopped at the public market and is sad to see it go.

"But we're glad to see the businesses are staying downtown," Dodson said.

There will be challenges to the Monument Square location, said Turin at David's Creative Cuisine. There's not a lot of parking, he said, and there are sometimes issues with panhandlers.

Beitzer said making the mini-public market concept truly work will be another challenge for the four initial businesses, which have organized as Market Vendors LLC.

"There has to be enough of them to make it worth a stop. It's great they have the four, but they have to have a variety, and they have to have more," Beitzer said. "Marketing is huge, because trying to get people to understand that they've relocated there is important and hard."