Osborne Farmers’ Market creating new opportunity

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This article was published 23/11/2015 (3913 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite the cold and snow, something fresh is growing in Osborne Village.

Located at 383 McMillan Ave. in the Glasgow Collision Centre building, the Osborne Farmers’ Market opened its doors to the public earlier this month. Organized by Constantine Gamvrelis, the small indoor market just southeast of the Village features over a dozen local vendors and is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Gamvrelis, who also owns and operates Organix Xoxo — a pesto and microgreens business — said many vendors were interested in having a storefront to carry their business through the offseason.  

“Winnipeg is the only major city in Canada that doesn’t have a year round farmers’ market,” Gamvrelis explained. “Vendors lose the opportunity to share their product and (opening the market) was an easy segue because all the other markets shut down.”  

The Osborne Farmers’ Market is a member of the Farmers’ Markets Association of Manitoba and is a collection of some of Manitoba’s most successful market vendors.

Names such as Nosh on This, Hello Cupcake, God’s Acres Farms (Steinbach), Food Ethos, Dairy Fairy, Soy Necessities, and more have set up in the space, and Gamvrelis says sales have been great prior to the grand opening set for December.

“It’s nice to share the adventure with a bunch of other friends and it’s cool to see people doing sales,” he said.

According to Gamvrelis, the Osborne Farmers’ Market is not meant to compete against other markets in the city, and instead is a complement to markets such as the Downtown Farmers’ Market and St. Norbert Farmers’ Market, which recently began a bi-weekly indoor market at the Eagles Club.

“A lot of us will still be at the other markets. We’re all tackling Hydro in the summer and we’re all staying at St. Norbert — no one is ever giving up that,” he said.

“The farmers’ market community is all family. We don’t have any back alley fights,” he joked. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for St. Norbert.”

The close proximity to Winnipeg Transit and the walkable neighbourhoods of Crescentwood, River-Osborne, and South Osborne will open up new markets for vendors and opportunities for collaboration with local business, Gamvrelis added.

The Osborne Farmers’ Market will be offering weekly programs including private sample parties on Thursday evenings, where people can sign up to taste test products, and each Sunday the market will host a different event.

The first Sunday of December will be a pop-up market at Black Rabbit Bistro Lounge where the market’s goods will be highlighted on the menu.

“We take our product there and the chefs cook with it and feature it on their menu,” Gamvrelis explained. “If you want to see how chefs would use our products you can come to these events.”

The market will also host vendor workshops, a book club, and regular “10-2 sales” where 10 per cent of the day’s sales go to a local charity. The first sale is Nov. 29 in support of the Autism Society of Manitoba.

“I’m excited to see the response from the community. Everyone has been really on board and excited about it,” Gamvrelis said.

For more information about the Osborne Farmers’ Market and its vendors go to OsborneFarmersMarket.com or call 204-590-7745.