Farmers market coming to former Bargain Fabric Outlet in Bedeque

The new owners of the former Bargain Fabric Outlet building in Bedeque, P.E.I., are hoping to expand food options in Prince County next spring. 

Eddie Guergis and his daughter, Ashley, want to open a second farmers' market in the space.

Guergis, whose grandfather owned a grocery store in Summerside, P.E.I., in the late 1930s, said he's already spoken to several vendors who have expressed an interest in selling their product in the new market. He said location was a key factor in his decision to purchase the building.

"We thought what a spot to have one," he said. "It's big, it would be a big venue out there, it's indoor, we can have it all year round."

"It's about 8,500 square feet, and we've got about 6,500 square feet to play with, and then obviously in the summer time, we've got a nice piece of property out there we can do some outdoor events also."

According to Guergis, potential vendors would sell a variety of items — from produce to flowers, meat to crafts, baked goods to coffee, and more.

'Anywhere from 60-100 vendors'

He added the market would also have a community table for local charities and organizations to promote their services and events. 

"We're hoping that we can anywhere from 60-100 vendors at any given time, Guergis explained. "Once we get them there and they see how we're conducting things and how busy we can make it, the building is in such a gorgeous spot, and the traffic is really good there, so we're looking forward to getting it rolling."

The Bedeque market would be the second for the Summerside area.

The Summerside Farmers Market is now into its 10th year of operation.

It has 42 vendors with another 20-25 on a waiting list.

Don MacDonald, the manager of the Summerside Farmers' Market, said it took a number of years to build the market into what it is today.

"I think the big secret is the atmosphere, also the vendors, the quality of merchandise we have, and we have a great mixture of farm products and meat products and different artisans of crafts," he said.

"Probably about 60-75 per cent of them have been with them since opening day," he added.

Not direct competition

MacDonald said he doesn't see the proposed market for Bedeque as direct competition. He hopes there will be enough customers for both to thrive.

"Competition is always good. I think it keeps everybody on the mark and makes them produce and package things a little better because they know they're going to gave some competition," he said. "I don't think it's going to affect our vendors or our Saturday mornings."

Guerguis said he believes there are enough vendors and customers to support both markets.

"I think so, for the amount of feedback we've got. We've gotten a lot of feedback from people that aren't even at that [Summerside] market basically because there isn't room," he said. "I know the Charlottetown Market has a two-year waiting list, so there's a lot of people I think are going to come to us and open us with us."

The building still needs to some interior work done before its ready. That's expected to take place early in the new year.

The owners hope to open the new market on Saturdays and Sundays beginning in April or May, and remain open year-round to help support and promote local vendors.  

"We're going to keep it open all year round to help our vendors," Guergis said. "Once we get a certain amount of vendors in there and people start seeing the traffic we're creating ... my dream is to have it full and the parking lot full."

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