The Spokane and Kootenai County farmers markets find new homes and bountiful welcomes this season

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Erick Doxey photo

The Spokane Farmers Market is settling into its new home in Browne's Addition.

Four weeks before the opening day of the Spokane Farmers Market, it didn't have a home.

A few months earlier, Atania Gilmore had accepted the market's manager position after being assured that it would be the perfect, low-stress gig for transitioning into retirement.

This year marks the Spokane Farmers Market's 25th anniversary, and for more than a decade it had popped up every Saturday morning in a vacant lot at Fifth Avenue and Browne Street, on land owned by Providence medical group. There shouldn't have been much to do. On April 17, Gilmore emailed Providence, asking them to confirm the lot's availability. They could not.

It wasn't a complete surprise. Providence had been transparent about its interest in selling the land, though there was no active sale. But with the market set to open in 26 days and still no guarantee, Gilmore couldn't keep vendors in limbo. Immediately, she texted Karyna Goldsmith, veteran market manager of South Perry's Thursday Market.

"I think I need to scout out a second location," Gilmore wrote.

Early this spring, another of the region's oldest and biggest urban farmers markets was also racing to change locations before opening day. Both the Spokane Farmers Market and Kootenai County Farmers Market have since found new neighborhood homes, and their 2023 seasons have kicked off fruitfully.

Gilmore was able to rehome the Spokane Farmers Market to Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne's Addition. Across the state line, the Kootenai market also moved its Wednesday night market from the heart of downtown Coeur d'Alene to the Riverstone development. Despite these unexpected challenges, both markets found supportive new communities, and saw their most successful opening days in recent memory.

The Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association, meanwhile, also launched its own Wednesday night market in the city's core, called the 5th Street Farmers Market.

When Goldsmith with the South Perry market got Gilmore's text, she was eager to help. She called Dawn Frey at the city of Spokane's Parks and Recreation Department. Frey immediately suggested Coeur d'Alene Park, soon to be the first stop of Spokane's new Central City Line, a bus rapid transit line that will run between Browne's Addition and Spokane Community College beginning July 15.

The first day she spent triaging the market's plans was a roller coaster, Gilmore says. Nine o'clock started with panic and dread. By 2 pm, however, she was walking through Coeur d'Alene Park with Frey, thrilled with what she saw. The park had shade, water and restrooms. It wasn't too far from their old location. It had the best of both worlds — the charm and walkability of a neighborhood, plus easy access from I-90.

"What I didn't know is that it's the oldest park in the city," Gilmore says. She realized how fitting it would be for the city's oldest park to host the city's oldest farmers market.

Gilmore went to her board with two pieces of news: The market needed to move, but it already had a place to go.

"Not too much time to feel anxious about having no home," recalls Kira Olsen, president of the Spokane Farmers Market board.

Next, Gilmore nervously walked into a Browne's Addition Neighborhood Council meeting to ask for their blessing. She was met with immediate applause. Council members were thrilled to host the new market in their neighborhood park.

More events means the park stays safer and cleaner, according to Frey. Plus, families and students in the neighborhood eagerly anticipated fresh produce just steps from their front door.

Timothy Pellow of Tolstoy Farms, a founding member of the Spokane Farmers Market, was worried about spreading word of the move in time. People come to his stand from all over the city. But it wasn't an issue. Pellow says his opening day sales were almost double what they were last year.

In fact, most vendors sold out, says Gilmore, including Viva Ultra, a new bakery that ran out of bread in just two hours. (Owner Noah Rosen says his record is 1 hour and 45 minutes.)

"I still feel like we're sort of still our regional farmers market rather than a neighborhood one," Pellow says, "even though we are really connected now to this neighborhood."

In Coeur d'Alene, Natalie Selbe's concerns had been brewing for months, even years. This was her fourth year as manager of the Kootenai County Farmers Market, which operates two weekly markets, one off busy U.S. Route 95 in Hayden every Saturday, and another evening market in downtown Coeur d'Alene during the week. The market has a 37-year history, including 17 years operating downtown.

Recently, though, permits were getting more expensive and relationships with business owners more strained, Selbe says.

The Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association, which exists to support downtown business owners, asked the Kootenai County Farmers Market to include brick-and-mortar businesses as vendors. The Kootenai County Farmers Market refused, citing its mission to provide opportunities only for small vendors with no storefronts and who create their own products within 100 miles of Kootenai County. Some downtown storefronts are traditional retailers, selling products made somewhere else.

Emily Boyd, executive director of the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association, said it was a "mutual decision" to discontinue the Wednesday night Kootenai County Farmers Market. Boyd and Selbe agreed that the missions of the two organizations didn't align anymore. On Jan. 20, the downtown association submitted a permit request for a Wednesday night market on Fifth Street starting May 10. By mid-February, Selbe learned her market would need to find a new location.

It only took Selbe a few weeks to choose where to move, but she decided to hold off on telling Kootenai County Farmers Market's vendors until she had a contract set in stone.

Riverstone is a retail and residential community 10 minutes northwest of downtown Coeur d'Alene. Beautiful condos sit above storefronts along the river, with a movie theater and plenty of restaurants down the street. It seemed a perfect place for a market, except that it, too, had rows of small shops. Riverstone sent local business owners a survey to gauge interest in having the farmers market join them.

Responses were so positive that Selbe signed the contract. Vendors got excited to move, and 80 of them — 20 more than usual — signed up for the market's first day.

Opening day on May 17 at the Kootenai County Farmers Market's new Wednesday site was crowded and cohesive.

Stephanie Platt of Gem State Mushrooms decided to collaborate with nearby restaurants, giving local chefs the opportunity to create dishes showcasing her mushrooms and offering samples at her booth.

"This influx of foot traffic benefits not only the market vendors but also the surrounding businesses, creating a ripple effect in economic growth in the community," Platt says.

Danny Flewelling of Danny Pleasant Gardens is also a part-time employee at Buckle, one of Riverstone's shops. His farmers market booth ended up right across from the clothing boutique, and he waved his coworkers over to check it out.

Yarid Ramirez, vendor and owner of Pawbulous Dog Bakery, said employees from a nearby nail salon and a yoga studio stopped at her booth to introduce themselves and buy pet treats.

"I've never seen such a sense of community," Ramirez says.

"It couldn't be a better spot," Flewelling adds. "All smiles at the end of the day."

Back in downtown Coeur d'Alene, the new 5th Street Farmers Market also did well on its opening day, says co-director Tanden Launder. It's a great sign, he says, proving that Coeur d'Alene is big enough to support two markets. He and his wife Nichole are focused on creating a strong community event that is inclusive of small businesses and the "entrepreneurial spirit that lives in North Idaho." ♦