- Our Mission -
The mission of the market is to be the
'heart' of St. Petersburg - the place,
more than anywhere else, that people feel
a strong sense of joyful connectedness
and creative community.
- While great food, interesting crafts
and lively music are all wonderful
elements of the market, this spirit
of community is what really defines
our market experience.
- The Basics -
The market officially opened in November
2002 and is now beginning its 4th season
(2005-06).
- We're open from early October -
late May each year. We close for the
summer due to the heat.
- The Market runs every Saturday from
9am - 2pm on Central Ave. in downtown
St. Petersburg.
- Vendor Participation - We currently
have over 150 approved vendors filling
over 80 spaces.
- We receive about 5 new vendor applications
every week that are screened to fit
our criteria
- Our vendors represent a wide variety
of ethnicities and nationalities,
contributing to a rich multicultural
experience of food, crafts, and music.
- Live Music -
We offer live music every week that plays
a key part of the upbeat market experience.
- Food Vendors -
Customers love the variety of fresh produce,
gourmet foods, baked goods, and much more.
Food shopping at the market often feels
like an adventure!
- Attendance -
We have about 2000 customers each week.
Our customers are fanatically enthusiastic
about the market. Many say the market
is the highlight of their week, and is
the best thing about st. Petersburg. Word
of mouth has been our strongest source
of advertising.
- Past Growth -
In just 3 years, we have become not only
the largest of the 10+ markets in the
Tampa Bay area (some of which have been
in business for 20 years) - we're
now the largest market (of over 50) in
Florida. We believe that we're in the
top 2% of all outdoor markets nationally.
- Volunteer
Management - The market was
started through the grassroots initiative
of volunteers.
- It's actively managed by a Steering
Committee of 3 volunteers, who have
donated over 3000 hours of unpaid
time since inception.
- The weekly operations have been
handled by a paid manager since the
second year.
- Sponsorship -
The market is not sponsored by an outside
organization ( e.g. city, merchants association,
etc). We bootstrapped our growth largely
through volunteer efforts and guerrilla
marketing.
- Non-profit
Status - We have almost completed
our formal application for (501c3) non-profit
status.
- Vendor Success -
a growing number of our vendors have opened
retail stores as a result of their success.
- Web site -
We have an unusually rich web site (www.saturdaymorningmarket.com),
that includes:
- Profiles and pictures of a variety
of vendors at the market.
- A music schedule
- A list of all markets in the Bay
area , as well as notable other markets
in the U.S.
- Monthly Newsletter - We send a monthly
email newsletter to over 1000 customers
- Community
Kitchen - We initiated a community
kitchen in 2004, to enable fledging vendors
to meet health code requirements by cooking
in a certified kitchen.
- Community
Organizations - We've initiated
a program to invite community organizations
to build public awareness by participating
(for free) at the market. We want to become
a key vehicle for building awareness and
support of the wide variety of worthwhile
programs available in the community.
- Customer
Satisfaction - We make customer
feedback forms available. We have a 10
to 1 ratio of positive comments to suggestions/criticisms.
This is an extraordinary customer satisfaction
profile!
|
