Representatives from the weekday Lexington Farmers Market, now located at Maxwell and Broadway from mid-May through mid-November, have been collaborating with Walker Properties to relocate the market to a vacant site at Ashland Ave. and National Ave., near Mirror Twin Brewing, pending final approval from its board.
Josh England
The Maxwell/Broadway location had served well for 20 years, but with redevelopment plans underway in the area, farmer’s market manager Josh England said the market is already feeling the impact.
Last year, plans were approved for the 17-acre parking lot across from Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center to be redeveloped into a $350 million mixed-use project that includes a hotel, entertainment venue, parking facilities, restaurants, apartments, and a grocery store. “Our location was tenuous at best with all the development that’s going on in that block with the new redevelopment project,” England said.
“We still have a couple of other goalposts… before we can fully say we’re 100 percent moving to the National Avenue area,” England said. There was a past failed attempt to locate the Tuesday-Thursday market on Oliver Lewis Way, but the National Ave. site holds new promise, England said.
Ongoing development projects near Maxwell and Broadway, the site of the weekday Lexington Farmers Market for two decades, prompted plans to move the market.
England has been in talks with Chad T. Walker, co-owner of Walker Properties, about the new site. “Since this idea’s been kicked around, a lot of the community has been very excited for the possibility of us being there,” England said. Walker said he’s always been a fan of the market and supporting local growers, and he feels the site will be ideal for their needs.
Chad T. Walker
“Although it’s probably an oxymoron, we are planning on creating a really nice parking lot,” Walker said of the development plan. “Increasing available parking in the neighborhood is a priority while simultaneously creating green space, a possible children’s playground, a general public outdoor-use space — which will double as an occasional event stage — and of course, accommodating the farmers market.”
Walker said the slated location is a concrete slab adjacent to a former grain building, where materials were once offloaded from freight trains along the abandoned rail line bordering Winchester Rd. “This historic location has been a unique waypoint for our neighborhood for several decades, which will now serve as both a historic and symbolic marker for the farmers market,” Walker said. “With the location situated on a nearly perfect north, south, east, and west orientation, the design will incorporate an acknowledgment of our agricultural neighbors in Woodford County, Bourbon County, Jessamine County, and Clark County.”
Walker said the site’s layout will also allow growers easy vehicular access without having to load/unload products and then repark their vehicles off-site. The warehouse district also recently acquired an Entertainment Destination Center (EDC) license, which allows visitors ages 21 and older to carry open alcoholic beverages. Other services, like restroom access and shelter, will be addressed as the design unfolds.
Joe Rice is co-owner of The Void Sake Company at 949 National Ave., which was founded in 2020 with a production facility, small tasting and tap room. He said his company has participated in the weekend market to get more exposure and meet community partners. “Now, with the move bringing that down to National, that’s going to be easier for us,” he said.
Anticipating the market’s move to National Avenue, Rice hopes to increase current taproom hours and offer liquor and wine by the drink, an expanded cocktail menu, and special events, including live music and collaborations with nearby restaurants and shops.
England said he’s also hopeful that the National Avenue space would enable more pop-ups and other special events. Additionally, he intends to explore other ways to expand the market’s presence while continuing to operate its Alexandria Drive and year-round downtown Saturday market locations.
Longer-term, England said the market has received a Farmers Market Promotion Program grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is making plans on how to use that funding, as well as planning how to celebrate the market’s 50th year of incorporation in 2025.
Lexington Farmers Market was established in 1975 as the Farm and Garden Market Cooperative Association, a nonprofit run by farmers and whose board is composed of member farmers. LFM also operates an Artists and Makers Market in conjunction with its downtown market.
According to UK’s Center for Crop Diversification, there were about 30 farmers markets in the commonwealth in 1994. That number topped 90 farmers markets statewide by 2004, and by 2018 there were more than 160. Kentucky Proud’s latest figures show there are more than 170 farmers markets statewide, located in 115 counties with about 2,400 vendors represented.
England is also mindful of and responsive to farmers market consumer trends, one being that more people tend to shop at the market during later hours. Another is that people are more than willing to visit several market locations for their produce needs and plan to return in a day or two for more fresh produce, buying enough for an evening’s meal or a week rather than a couple of weeks.
For the consumer, there are good deals to be had while supporting local growers and enjoying fresh, healthy fare, England said. While food prices at major grocery stores have risen significantly, “farmers market prices have been able to be a little more stable over the past two years,” he said.