Feet in the door
St. John’s Farmers’ Market vendor selection rankles Flavours of India entrepreneurs
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A St. John's couple that operates an Indian food business says it's time the city's farmers' market shakes up its vendors list to allow newcomers a fair chance.
Harsha and Akhil Deshpande, owners of Flavours of India, were turned down for a spot at the market this year because it already has two vendors who sell similar food.
“Having a co-operative business is fine to have their own policies, but since they have taken huge public money, they are supposed to look after new businesses more than keeping their old ones,” Akhil said.
The couple, who prepare authentic East Indian food, contacted St. John’s city council and were told the market is independent and sets its own vendor policies.
But the Deshpandes say it’s unfair that there’s no new opportunities for emerging businesses at the market, which tapped into taxpayer funding from the city, and from the provincial and federal governments, in order to set up the new Freshwater Road complex, a renovated former Metrobus depot, which it leases from the city. The City of St. John’s contributed $2 million through its capital budget to the market, close to $1.17 million came from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and $490,000 from the provincial government.
The city in a statement said it does not have any involvement in the selection of vendors – please refer your questions to the St. John’s Farmer’s Market directly.
The couple have been in business a year and attend as many events as they can, including the St. John’s Regatta, the St. John's Night Market and events out of town such as the market in Brigus and the Brigus Blueberry Festival. They were busy over the summer with all those events.
But it's a spot at the St John's Farmers' Market that would give them the most exposure and allow them to expand their food business, the couple say.
“We would get the customer base, their exposure and there (at the farmers' market) people would get to know us,” Akhil said, adding that if they do well, they could perhaps move on and let someone else in.
“Our point is they were mandated for something,” said Akhil, who insists the farmers' market should go back to being an incubator for new business, which was included in its request for proposals associated with the new location.
That mandate said the market "aims to be a key pillar of local food security, to serve as an incubator for new local businesses, to support the cooperative movement, and to provide a space for the community to gather and connect," Akhil noted.
“They are not following that. They are keeping all the old vendors and blocking all the new vendors," he said.
“They don’t want to say to their vendors ‘Move out.’ They are saying they are saturated and they don’t want to take any more. (The existing vendors) are basically forever now. … If (the market) had not taken public money, yeah, they could do whatever they want.”
Other events can be hit and miss, the couple say.
They prepare the food at rental commercial kitchens in St. John’s and metro, and bring it to events, and it’s hard to judge how much they need so there’s no wastage, they said.
A spot at the farmers' market and access to facilities such as a stall with a fridge would be a big help, Akhil said.
In an email, St. John's Farmers' Market executive director Pam Anstey said she explained to the Deshpandes that the market currently has two food vendors who sell a similar product and is unable to accept another vendor in that role.
“This sort of situation is not uncommon. We do have vendors who would like to be here, but sell products that are very similar to other existing vendors, and as such we are not able to accept them, either,” Anstey said.
“Typically, most farmers’ markets do not rotate vendors at all. They simply rent established and permanent booths to vendors until their space is full. After that, new vendors wishing to be part of such a market must wait until an existing vendor chooses to leave, creating an opening.”
Anstey said the St. John’s Farmers' Market is based on a more blended model, with a combination of anchor (permanent and ongoing) vendors and rotating vendors, which provides diversity for customers and the public, while ensuring that customers can also find their favourites every week.
She said Flavours of India is welcome to check back next year when the farmers' market opens vendor applications for 2020.