The 21st century has proved to be an incredible time of change, development, and growth for Indianapolis; the same goes for the Indianapolis City Market. As an institution in this city from the very beginning, going back to 1821, the City Market has gone through a number of different stages. From open air public farmers’ market to common meeting space to lunch counter, City Market has always been there for Indianapolis residents and visitors.
Serving as downtown’s lunch counter for much of the last several decades, City Market has seen quite a few changes since the new millennium: the demolition of Market Square Arena, the closing of our east plaza to traffic, the introduction of the Bike Hub YMCA and The Platform office space, bringing in Tomlinson Tap Room, and now the urban development of the Market East district. It’s an exciting time at the City Market, and we are proud to continue serving this community.
City Market merchants are the lifeblood of our space. They’re the primary reason folks come through our doors and they continue to provide delicious food to downtown residents, workers, and visitors. We are always sad to see our merchants leave the Market, but we are more excited to see them succeed and expand – as in the case of Say Cheese. The popular grilled sandwich shop left recently, but will be reopening in the future as a new concept restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. We are so proud to serve as a small business incubator in Indianapolis.
We are also excited to welcome new ideas, new concepts, and new faces to the City Market. Since the start of 2017, we have welcomed three new merchants, and within the year we will welcome at least two more. First was Circle City Boulangerie, an extension of Circle City Sweets and Circle City Soups, which sells artisan baked goods. The Completely Nuts and Candy Company followed, opening their third location (first in Marion County) selling delicious candies and other treats. And then The Flower Boys started selling beautiful floral arrangements and (most recently) cards for all occasions through Haven Paperie. The Flower Boys will soon move into Say Cheese’s old location near our east doors.
We’re so excited to share that by the end of the year, the City Market will welcome Duos and Gomez BBQ to our family: Duos will continue serving their popular menu combination of vegan and meat-focused dishes, and Gomez BBQ will serve Indiana craft barbecue.
Change isn’t just taking place inside the City Market, there’s been plenty going on outside the Market’s walls as well. The 20th anniversary season of the Original Farmers’ Market kicked off on May 3rd, and we’ve had an incredibly fun and successful summer out on Market Street every Wednesday providing people with fresh produce and artisan products. We especially appreciate people bringing their adorable dogs around the Farmers’ Market! [Editor’s note: check out @dogsoficm on instagram!]
We also recently celebrated our 2nd Indianapolis Placemaking Day – highlighting placemaking projects through the Heart of the Community grant from Southwest Airlines. In partnership with Big Car Collaborative, we have worked to bring public space activation to our east plaza with a lovely new rain garden, bocce ball courts, and comfortable seating, to name some of the additions.
We hope you enjoy all that’s new here at City Market, and all that is soon to come. It’s an exciting time for the City Market, and for the City of Indianapolis!
Post by Joe Perin, Public Relations and Events Manager at Indianapolis City Market.
