Farmers Market is rising again
Property in north Houston with shops and restaurants may open by next spring
Houston Farmers Market, the 18-acre redevelopment of a decades-old produce market on Airline Drive, could open as early as next spring with new shops and restaurants, including a high-end butcher and two dining concepts from lauded Houston chef Chris Shepherd.
“The goal for food here is really to bring a snapshot of the city,” Shepherd said Friday afternoon during a tour of the project, for which he is a consultant. “This can be a placewhere you see all of the city.”
The tour focused on new buildings that have been added to the property — now a construction zone but once a lively hub of produce sellers hawking fruits, vegetables and other goods in this north Houston community inside the North Loop just west of Interstate 45.
Commercial real estate firm MLB Capital Partners purchased the property in spring 2017 from the Farmers’ Marketing Association of Houston Inc., which had owned and operated the market since its inception in 1942.
The Houston-based development and investment company has been working to convert the property, at 2520 Airline Drive, into an upscale retail destination focusing on diverse cuisines. It is adding climate-con-
trolled spaces, shaded open-air market areas and a green space for chef demonstrations, wine tastings and local entertainment.
Not knowing what the coming year will bring in relation to the pandemic, Todd Mason, principal of MLB Capital Partners, is staying optimistic.
“We have a natural advantage because it’s open air,” he said.
Some of the new buildings are nearly ready for tenants.
Shepherd, owner of the Underbelly-Hospitality restaurant group, plans to operate a fast-casual concept at the market, and his company’s culinary director, Nick Fine, will run a full-service restaurant. The chefs did not provide further details.
R-C Ranch Texas Craft Meats will open its first brick-and-mortar retail butcher shop. Its offerings will include Texas wagyu beef, heritage pork, wild game and specialty sausages.
Existing tenant the Egg House will expand its footprint with a retail storefront. Los Cavazos will operate an apothecary.
Manzano’s, Rivera’s and HST Produce, which all have sold seasonal crops, tropical fruits, produce, dried chilies and specialty grains, will continue their retail and wholesale operations from larger facilities on the site.
The majority of the parking — therewill bemore than 570 spaces in all — will be at the back of the property. There will also be bike racks.
Since the market was sold, property values have increased in the area. Developers have been buying land for apartments, townhomes and shopping centers.
The appraised value of the farmers market itself is up 50 percent since 2017.
Mason said the project has been generally well received in the neighborhood.
“Like any project, I’m sure there are the naysayers out there,” he said. “The market has been here 78 years now, so it was here before any of these neighbors. They’re pretty accustomed to the activity and the trucks coming and going.”