Fresh and Local: Public Market Marks 3 Years in Downtown Wheeling
Shelley Hanson Trending
The Public Market celebrated its third anniversary in downtown Wheeling on Wednesday with free coffee for its first 33 customers along with raffles, music and cake.
General Manager Jodi Adams said the market, which is owned by Grow Ohio Valley, opened on the ground floor of the Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center about three months before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns started. The pandemic forced the store's restaurant to offer to-go meals and curbside pickups, but still offered in-store shopping to its customers.
"It's been an interesting ride," Adams said. "The biggest difference is being in the depths of COVID we did curbside shopping and photos of things and talked with our customers via text and online as best we could."
The market also garnered funding for its customers who are in the SNAP program, which it used for its SNAP-Stretch program. The program provides a 50% discount to SNAP customers without impacting the farmer's or vendor's bottom line.
During COVID the additional funding from the government for the SNAP program helped the market and the local vendors who sell items there on consignment.
"They were selling a lot. Some of our bakers are really local, right here in Wheeling. Our meat vendors, livestock farmers and produce farmers were able to make a really good living because customers were coming in here to buy their products," she said.
The market continues to raise funds for the SNAP-Stretch program.
Adams said the market continues to grow and expand the number of local vendors that sell items there. Some newer vendors are selling prepared foods, bison meat, jewelry and more. It continues to sell fresh produce from local farmers and Grow Ohio Valley's urban plots. Its Friday music program to entertain customers, initiated by sales manager Mary Blake, also continues.
Blake's band, New Age Adenas, provided musical entertainment during Wednesday's celebration.
Adams said the market is looking forward to its future Wheeling Food Hub where local vendors can use a commercial kitchen to produce items for sale in local stores and at the Public Market. Grow OV this week was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to help make the Wheeling Food Hub happen in a donated East Wheeling building.
"We're getting new vendors weekly, which is really cool. They can start their business here and our vendor manager works with them on labeling and licensing," she said. "It can be simple. We've got that ability to have someone walk you through it and really guide the process for you so you can sell and start to make money."
Some may remember past news reports from years ago of the Public Market idea being met with some resistance before it began. Initially, the market was going to be exempt from paying B&O tax, but that idea was scrapped after some said it was unfair to existing grocery businesses. A five-year lease deal was eventually signed by Grow OV, the Ohio Valley Regional Transportation Authority, the Anthony Wayne Oil Corp. and city of Wheeling, for the market to move into a portion of the first floor of the Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center.
Previously the space was used as a waiting area of sorts for those riding public transit buses in the city. Greyhound used the space as one of its stops until it decided to move elsewhere downtown in 2014.