Here's what Edens has planned for the Union Market building (the former DC Farmer's Market). As you can see, these are some pretty ambitious plans. They include everything from a bakery, to gourmet cheeses, to Korean fusion tacos, to a raw bar. They will have 40 vendors total, about a third of those will be there full time. The remaining two thirds will rotate (maybe using their space three or four days out of the week). I was told they hope to pen to the public by July. Washingtonian has a larger version of the image, and more info.
22 comments:
I assume that the graphic above is the diner car and that this market is actually for the possums.
I'm excited to check out the place and try one of the boozy sodas.
Interested to see how it does -- is there a big enough customer base in the neighborhood? Will it actually attract people from all over the city?
Wow. They're really betting the farm on this. I'm surprised that they're not waiting for the rest of the market to develop, and that they were able to find so many vendors.
Either way, this will be a really good thing for the neighborhood if it's successful.
Nick,
It sounds like the kind of place you could go on a date and stroll around a bit. People from the neighborhood will definitely go, and I think it's unique enough to draw in the curious. Plus, it's pretty damn close to the Metro. Don't forget that Layla Lounge is in the Market too, and they don't seem to have problems attracting people.
It doesnt have to attract only people from the neighborhood. It sounds like it will be similar to Eastern Market. I'm pretty sure EM gets a lot of people from all over, particularly on the Blue/Orange lines. I think developed NY Ave is going to start getting a lot of people from the NE part of the Red line. Its going to be the easiest destination for them to get to via Metro
dave b is probably spot on.
looking forward to your blog, dave!
call it daveDC.blogger.com
i'll comment soonest..
This sounds GREAT! Bring on the development.
If I had to bet, the development company here is willing to eat some up-front losses to boost the value of the surrounding property. Look what Yards Park did to Forest City's properties near the Navy Yard--they can now charge a fortune in rents because they made a destination before they built.
I fear it's too big too fast all at once. I want this to succeed, but they're going to have to do a full court press to get folks' attention.
with this jump up in quality and quantity, they really don't need the rest of the market to make this work. this is huge as it is, not some stand alone restaurant.
I'm quite happy that they are maintaining the farmers market vibe, but with a more modern take. i hope it stays in that course.
i think this area has garnered the attention of the whole city. this place will be very popular.
this is great news.....when will the project be completed.
5:02,
The Union Market building is scheduled to open this summer. The last date I heard was June 30th.
I've heard the building will be ready for its tenants at the end of June, but not open to the public until Dec/Jan. (I'd love to be wrong!)
9:28,
That differs from what I was told directly by Edens PR people.
That's what I heard from the contractors working on it on site. Again, I'd love to be wrong!
3:09,
I have confirmed that they do plan to be up and running (I assume with at least the early vendors) by July. Awesome.
Early July. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
so what about the vendors who were there before...?
tiffanyc,
I don't have any info on the pre-fire vendors. It looks like an entirely new crop. To be honest, I have always tended to shop more at the various stores, rather than the vendors in the DC Farmers Market as I generally found the vendors to be overpriced (more expensive than grocery stores) without any particular upside (farmers/organic/extra friendly/superior selection/ect.). Exceptions have included when I needed special cuts of pork, or wanted something from the farmer couple who came down from PA.
My favorite vendor was that couple from Pennsylvania that sold fresh butter in one lb blocks, whole chickens, bacon etc. Their stuff was fantastic and much cheaper than eastern market. I also liked those bbq deals you could get from the meat vendors. I really hope they come back!
They are already putting the Union Market signage up today-- I'm generally skeptical of development timelines, but they seem to be moving quickly and publicly backing up their ambitious timeline almost daily on Twitter.
I talked to the guy from Red Apron at the Market Saturday. He said they do plan on a processing plant there but no store front as of yet. He said he heard that from a few vendors listed in the article. He's afraid the developers are listing lots of people before they've actually signed on to create momentum. Hopefully it will work.
Glad to see this change in the community...I do hope the folks who sold the cheeses and eggs return
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