Photo Credit: Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market Facebook Page
A recent decision by Milwaukee County officials to oust the weekly Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market from the Mitchell Park Domes Greenhouse Annex remains unresolved. The community-serving economic generator averaged nearly 1,800 visitors at Saturday markets during 2017-’18.
Jennifer Casey, executive director of the Fondy Food Center, which operates both the winter market and Fondy’s seasonal outdoor market, said that a search committee comprised of Fondy staff, volunteers and vendors is seeking a new site, “but we have yet to identify a venue that meets all of our criteria.” According to Deborah Deacon, who managed the market’s move to the Domes in 2013, “there’s not much out there.”
Casey outlined criteria identified by market customers and vendors: “Consistently available Saturday mornings till early afternoon between November and April; centrally located with easy freeway access; ease of loading and unloading for vendors; ample free and safe parking with accessible public transit; and at least 10,000 square feet of space with on-site restrooms, water and electricity.” She also added that “a sunny, attractive space would be preferred.”
James Tarantino, chief of business services for Milwaukee County Parks, explained by email the county’s rationale for evicting the popular market. “The focus on rentals (weddings, corporate, proms) is a high priority going into 2019. Just four Saturday rentals [during market months] would amount to more than the revenue generated by the market in its 23 events.”
A new parks department facility rental guide lists a rental fee of $3,500 to rent the annex for six hours on a Saturday evening, and $1,500-$2,500 for other evenings. Rates do not include entry to the Domes glasshouses. Evening rentals of the Domes lobby, after the horticultural conservatory closes at 5 p.m., are listed at $800-$2,450 and include access to the three Domes. In 2017-’18, the winter market paid $13,800 ($600 weekly) for 23 Saturday markets held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A four-hour daytime rental of the Annex from Sunday through Friday is posted at $800.
Tarantino said 16 catered events were held within the Domes complex in 2017, but did not specify whether any were in the Annex.
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Picking Winners and Losers
Zilli Hospitality Group’s pending contract with Milwaukee County (through its parent company, Grandview, Inc.) provides for exclusive catering rights at the Annex, as well as the Domes. During two Milwaukee County Board committee hearings in January, county attorney Paul Kuglitsch never mentioned that the winter market might be kicked out. The proposed terms sheet specified that the county and public could continue using the Annex (built with public funding) for non-catered events, “including 22 winter markets.” Kuglitsch confirmed on Monday, May 7, that Zilli’s contract had not yet been executed.
Milwaukee County Supervisor John Weishan Jr., whose district includes part of the South Side, said, “Nothing indicated that the winter market’s Domes lease was ever in jeopardy.” However, the veteran supervisor also said he regrets giving county administrators “too much leeway” in executing a contract that the board will likely be unable to oversee.
Eighty farmers and local producers participated this season—about 50 per week. Some Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market (MWFM) vendors and customers are miffed—even outraged—by the abrupt lease nonrenewal. They wonder why county officials did not consult any organizers, vendors or customers before deciding to shut down the popular community destination.
Stalwart MWFM vendor Angela Moragne of Milwaukee called booting the market “a sacrilege.” Moragne—co-owner of That Salsa Lady, “the only Black and woman-owned salsa company in the U.S.”—adds, “Here in segregated Milwaukee, this is the one place where everyone comes together” from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Another long-time vendor (who asked not to be identified) wrote in an email: “I have come to realize it is a winter tourist attraction… Every week there would be international customers and people from all over the country. I have a means of tracking this because I hand out free shipping cards to out-of-towners. This way, I know customers at that market generate online business, which I love!” The vendor concluded: “The mystery corporation behind the decision may stand to profit from the ousting, but I hope it does not go unnoticed that farmers and small businesses will not.”
No Commitment to Milwaukee?
Ian Bautista, executive director of the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, says that he hopes “there might be some way to keep the winter market at the Domes. It’s an important economic anchor and way for residents to access healthy local food.” Dave Boucher, a decades-long investor in Milwaukee’s West Side, is troubled that no Milwaukee leaders are advocating for keeping the winter market in the city. “Without leaders committing to this city beyond Downtown,” Boucher worries about Milwaukee’s overall economic development prospects, not just the market’s fate. Boucher co-owns and operates Amaranth Bakery & Café on 33rd and Lisbon. After moving here in 1993 to pursue a graduate degree in urban studies at UW-Milwaukee, he bought a historic home near Washington Park. He has since pursued private and collective efforts to improve his neighborhood and beyond.
Amaranth was a winter market vendor when it was at State Fair Park and for several years at the Domes, resulting in “many connections that continue.” Boucher insists that “the winter market has created value” within an economically evolving South Side neighborhood. “We are losing an amenity with a proven track record. It required no tax subsidy and was paying a reasonable rent for a public park facility. Any effort that attracts nearly 2,000 people weekly in Milwaukee—that’s no joke.”
Both vendors and customers question the wisdom of booting the market for “pie-in-the-sky rentals,” as one vendor commented. Boucher asked: “What model is [Milwaukee County] employing to justify using park facilities primarily to generate revenue while closing off public amenities?”
Nourishing Community
Martha Davis Kipcak, a longtime activist for sustainable local food systems, also expressed concern. “It will be a shame if this unique treasure ends out of inertia,” she said by phone, adding, “when people leave this market, they are smiling.” Davis Kipcak cited Farmers Market Coalition statistics that “people who shop at farmer’s markets have 15-20 social interactions per visit,” compared to one or two interactions at grocery stores. “Yes, it’s about food but also so much more,” she said. “It’s been proven that isolation is more harmful to one’s health than obesity.”
Kipcak also hopes that decision makers will consider “the power of the commons in building a resilient community.” A winter market cofounder, she appreciates how it “has evolved organically—no pun intended.” She also helped found the Milwaukee Food Council.
Deacon, who cofounded the Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market and managed it until spring 2015, said, “A sense of a community has bloomed in the Domes. It is a sunlight-filled place to meet neighbors, catch up with friends and spend time with family while gathering locally grown ingredients for home-cooked meals.”
A Small Business Incubator
Milwaukee ranks near the bottom of major cities in terms of business startups. That’s why Deacon thinks it’s crucial that the Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market “serves as a small business incubator for farms and specialty food producers. Interactions between vendors and their customers that occur at a market are invaluable—not just in dollars, but in the sharing of ideas, stories and enthusiasm.” Deacon said the winter market has long been a “venue for entrepreneurs to develop a customer following, experiment with new products, pricing and marketing, and ramp up sales and perhaps move on to larger ventures or a permanent storefront.” She added that chefs and retailers also scout the market to check out offerings and network with vendors.
One of the market’s most prominent start-up launches has been Valentine Coffee. Deacon met owner Robb Kashevarof when he was still perfecting his coffee-roasting techniques in his garage and selling his beans out of the trunk of his car. He sold Valentine’s first cup at the winter market in 2009. Valentine has remained an anchor even after opening a café on 59th and Vliet and a second shop in Drexel Town Square, Oak Creek. Kashevarof said, “We have developed our own community of vendors at the winter market, along with a loyal and growing customer following.”
Deacon said that at least seven other businesses went from being solely market vendors to having brick-and-mortar outlets during her six-year tenure. Katie Hassemer, Fondy’s director of farmers markets, said that since Fondy took over, about 12 vendors have either opened their own stores, began to also sell products in grocery stores, or otherwise dramatically increased their businesses. That includes Chillwaukee fruit popsicles, Grafton Stone Mill, Healthy Roots cold-pressed juices, Tabal Chocolate, Tippecanoe Herbs, Wisconsin Soup Company, WOW meatless balls and Zymbiotics fermented vegetables.
Tamerra Dykema of Dominion Valley Farm of Allenton has been another winter market anchor after first selling her grass-fed meats at summer markets. Initially hesitant, she signed up for alternate weeks and switched to weekly attendance after her first foray. She said the winter market has helped ensure steady, year-round sales for their small family farm.
Deacon summarized the winter market’s wide-ranging benefits. “It has significantly raised the public profile of the Domes and surrounding neighborhoods, enabled residents of Metro Milwaukee to eat local longer, supplied a late-fall and winter source of revenue for farms, served as a small-business incubator for specialty food producers [and] exemplified the year-round demand for locally grown food. For low-income customers, it has provided equitable access to wholesome food through use of Quest cards and matching benefits of up to $20 per Quest shopper per week.”
Update: After the above article went to press, several pivotal developments occurred relating to the winter market.
- Milwaukee County supervisors introduced a resolution at the Parks, Energy & Environment Committee urging the Abele administration to “continue Milwaukee County’s partnership with the Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market by negotiating a new lease” to keep the market at the Domes Annex. The market generated $1 million annually in sales during 23 weekly events. Sponsored by Board Chairman Theo Lipscomb, Sr. and Sup. Marina Dimitrijevic, it passed 5-0 in committee. However, since it is advisory, county administrators will still determine whether or not the market will be retained.
- Newly elected Supervisor Sylvia Ortiz-Velez urged county administrators to keep the market at the Domes, which is within her district. She outlined the extensive senior and low-income housing surrounding the Domes and how the market serves residents by offering local fresh produce within walking distance in one of the city’s most densely populated areas, which is also a “food desert.” The neighborhood lacks a full-service grocery store since the recent closing of Pick ‘N Save.
- Supervisors persistently asked parks officials and county attorney Paul Kuglitsch to confirm who actually made the decision to cancel the market without receiving a definitive answer. However, after a previously publicly noticed closed-door segment to discuss a pending lawsuit settlement with Zilli Hospitality Group’s parent company, Committee Chair Jason Haas noted that county administrators and lawyers indicated they would include the Fondy Food Center in discussions involving Zilli’s pending contract. The Shepherd Express previously reported on how that settlement may have influenced decisions about the market.
- Jennifer Casey, Fondy’s executive director, noted that she had already reached out to Zilli about working collaboratively to ensure smooth transitions between the market and catered events held in the Annex. Fondy staff also clarified that it routinely takes two hours to set up the market and one hour to break it down, and that Fondy staff and vendors handle those functions and on-site market management. They also recommended that signage be installed to direct visitors to a large parking lot behind the Domes, to help facilitate parking.
- William Lynch, chair of the Mitchell Park Conservatory Task Force, expressed concerns that a 20-year lease with Zilli will tie the hands of the task force charged with charting a future path for the Domes. He said the next task force meeting would include an agenda item about future uses of the Annex, on Thursday, May 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Domes.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Martha Davis Kipcak as a former executive director of the nonprofit Center for Resilient Cities.
