CLEVELAND, Tenn. — City Council members here still are exploring the idea of a downtown market day.
“The more I think about this, the more it makes sense,” Councilman Bill Estes said during Monday’s council meeting.
The idea was proposed several weeks ago while Bradley County commissioners considered moving the county’s farmers market and cannery from Peerless Road to Urbane Road. Plans call for the Urbane Road market to have a covered area where vehicles can back up to a concrete walk.
MainStreet Cleveland Executive Director Sharon Marr told council members that having a local source for fresh produce is a way to draw people downtown.
“A lot of MainStreet communities across the state do have markets downtown,” Mrs. Marr said.
Mr. Estes said the city and county markets would not compete for business. The downtown market would be held on Saturdays, he said, while the county’s market is open three days a week.
He said the spot could become a venue for arts and crafts along with local produce.
Mayor Tom Rowland asked that MainStreet consider an experiment during one of the regularly scheduled summer car shows. On the fourth Monday of each month April through October, MainStreet sponsors a cruise-in of vintage vehicles and hot rods. Hundreds of cars are on display, while downtown hosts thousands of visitors.
“At the first cruise-in, when we have all the folks downtown, we could assist in finding a location for (farmers and vendors) to park their vehicles close to the cruise-in, where they could back in and sell their wares,” he said. It would be a way to gauge how well the idea is accepted, he said.
Council members on Monday suggested several other possible locations.
The downtown market would not offer a cannery, Mr. Estes said, and should not be seen as a competitor to the county farmers market.
Randall Higgins covers news in Cleveland, Tenn., for the Times Free Press. He started work with the Chattanooga Times in 1977 and joined the staff of the Chattanooga Times Free Press when the Free Press and Times merged in 1999. Randall has covered Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Alabama. He now covers Cleveland and Bradley County and the neighboring region. Randall is a Cleveland native. He has bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University. His awards ...
