Chattanooga Market General Store to open near Aquarium

The operators of the Chattanooga Market are opening a general store in the River Place building outside the Tennessee Aquarium as they try to reach both tourists and local customers.

"It will be a market plus a little more Chattanooga flare for things people expect to see" in the city, said Melissa Siragusa, marketing director for the group.

Starting Memorial Day, the general store will open seven days a week in the ground floor of the two-story building that sits on the aquarium plaza, Siragusa said. Nearly all of the items for sale in the store will come from artists and artisans from the popular Chattanooga Market that's open Sundays near Finley Stadium, she said.

Artisan-made foods such as jams and jellies and local ice cream also will be offered, Siragusa said. In addition, the store will provide assorted sundry items ranging from aspirin to swim diapers, she said.

Public Markets LLC, which runs Chattanooga Market and others locally, is leasing the space from the downtown nonprofit redevelopment group River City Co., which owns that part of the building.

Amy Donahue, River City's director of marketing, said the store will go in about 1,500 square feet, although there's an additional area that includes the stairs, elevator and restrooms.

She said the initial lease term is Memorial Day through Labor Day.

"We'll include some month-to-month extensions beyond that if the store is successful and all parties want to continue," Donahue said.

The space and more on the second floor were to have held the Chattanooga History Center, but River City reclaimed the building last year after the history museum was unable to raise enough money to open its facility.

River City built the River Place building in 1993 as a visitors center and headquarters of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In 2006, the tourism bureau moved its headquarters to the top floor of the SunTrust building and River City helped finance the history museum's attempt to buy and renovate part of the 23,000-square-foot facility. Although the museum raised and spent millions of dollars on the facility, it failed to raise enough money to finish the original concept and the museum never opened other than for special events and courses.

Donahue said River City then opened that part of the building to various groups for walk-throughs to get ideas about future uses, and Public Markets Executive Director Chris Thomas took part.

"This building is important," she said. "We want to make sure whatever happens makes sense."

A National Geographic monster fish exhibit linked with the aquarium recently ended its term in the building earlier this spring.

"We want the general store concept to be successful," Donahue said. "It showcases unique things happening in our community."

Local artist Alexa Lett, who is organizing the general store, said she has contacted the artists in the downtown incubator Chattanooga Workspace and they're excited about taking part.

"A lot of places have our art but, in the heart of tourism, there's not anything," Lett said, adding the general store will be "an epicenter for art and made-local."

She said that on Memorial Day, there are several events already lined up to help draw customers to the store.

"We hope to create an area inside and outside that invites people to hang out," Lett said.

Siragusa said the space in the building looks "brand-spanking new," having been refreshed during the History Center effort.

"It's primed for us," she said. "We've hired all the staff. We're setting up merchandising and getting staff trained in the next two weeks."

Donahue said River City continues to look at what could go upstairs in the building.

"It's a high-traffic area," she said. "We're trying to figure out what needs to happen on the top floor. We're doing events up there to get people thinking about that space."

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.