Market rides latest trendsTen years after it opened, the third incarnation of London's venerable Covent Garden Market is in a good place, says general manager Bob Usher. Hank Daniszewski |
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Bob Usher, general manager of the Covent Garden Market, shows off the restored horse amusement ride, named Trigger, which will be unveiled tomorrow as part of anniversary celebrations at the Covent Garden Market. Trigger, a fixture in the previous market, was found in a barn and reclaimed.
Usher said the market is cashing in on two growing trends -- consumer demand for fresh, local food and a resurgence in the downtown core's population.
The market has 51 independent retailers and has maintained its local character by shutting out national chains. The farmers in the seasonal outdoor market are required to grow their own products.
Covent Market is as old as London itself, with the first outdoor market sprouting in the 1820s and the first market building built in 1853.
The $14-million showpiece building opened in October 1999 and drew huge crowds. It replaced the 1956 building that was mainly a parking garage with a basic market on the ground floor.
The new Covent Garden was the first step in a major city investment in the downtown core that included the new Central Library and the John Labatt Centre.
But Usher said the early curiosity didn't translate into sales.
"Lots of people were looking but not buying," he said.
The market went through several tough years and two general managers before Usher took over the job six years ago.
After several years of inconsistent hours, he made Sunday and Friday evening openings mandatory.
"People were telling us they didn't know when we were open -- you can't have that," he said.
Compared to the hoopla of the grand opening in 1999, today's anniversary celebration will be a modest affair.
The highlight will be the unveiling of a nostalgic treasure -- Trigger, the original mechanical horse that took a generation of London children for a ride for one thin dime.
After months of searching, Trigger turned up in the barn of a former employee of Western Amusements, the company that maintained the rides.
Trigger was installed two years after the former market building opened in 1956 and became a magnet for every child who entered. He eventually wore out and was replaced by two more clones.
Trigger has been restored and will be put out to pasture as a display in the market.
Trigger isn't the only holdover. Doris Family Produce is one of number of retailers who started out in the new building and have successfully made the transition.
Chris Doris said his family's business has had to adjust to a changing market.
"Everybody expected the same old market and what they got was a little bit of a shock. We went from running a mom and pop business to running a boutique grocery store."
Doris said the retailers are better educated about their produce including how is grown and how to prepare it.
Ian Greasley of Bloomers flower shop got in on the ground floor of the new Covent Garden, opening his second shop in the building.
He said the market is catching a rising tide of residential development in the downtown core.
Bloomers contributes a rose to a "welcome bag" of items that Covent Garden merchants deliver to new downtown residents.
He said the market has have to make some adjustments along the way and will have to make more. "This place has to work by evolution."
Hank Daniszewski is a Free Press business reporter. hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca
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Covent Garden Market
First building, 1853
Second building, 1956
Third Building, 1999
$14 million: Construction tab, latest building.
51 current vendors, including 17 from second building.
$14 million: annual sales
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