Saturdays, 9am – 2pm
625 52nd Street
kenoshapublicmarket.com
Kenosha Public Market is a new market in town with a lot of familiar faces! We opened our “doors” (so to speak) on June 27th when “Farmers Markets” were deemed an essential food venue!
Kenosha Public Market was created during the pandemic. COVID-19 set the tone for our market from the start. We knew that we had to create a very safe and friendly shopping experience in order to address our changing conditions. When our board of directors came together in early April, we weren’t sure what our new market was going to look like or if we were even going to be able to function in the current climate. As a result, we immediately began planning for both an in-person shopping experience along with our parallel on-line store, KPM2GO. We wanted to ensure that our local farmers, growers and producers would be able to sell their goods as soon as possible even if the pandemic prevented us from having an outdoor in-person farmers market. That is when “a new way to market” was created and our online store, KPM2GO, really came into focus as a necessity for our community.
Kenosha Public Market is located at 625 52nd Street in the lot next door to the Kenosha Municipal Building. We are grateful for the amount of open space this lot provides our market as safety remains our number one priority. We are able to space our vendors at least 20 feet apart from each other and maximize our social distancing capabilities by providing extremely wide walking aisles to keep our vendors and customers safe while shopping. Walking through the Kenosha Public Market, you will see so many familiar faces (behind masks, of course) among our vendors and board members. Currently, our vendors solely sell essential food and health & wellness items as we continue to follow the Kenosha Kickstart Guidelines. When these guidelines allow, we will expand our market to include the sale of many non-essential items and services that customers would otherwise expect to see at our market.
As we say, we are “a new WAY to market” because there is truly no other market like it in the area. Our most distinctive feature is our online store, KPM2GO. Our customers can shop our vendors online, pay with a click, and pick up their goods at the market, curbside! This is a fantastic option for anyone who isn’t quite ready to walk the market but still wants access to all of the healthy and fresh goods that the market has to offer. Ordering online also ensures that your favorite items will never be sold out! Whether you’re short on time, wanting to ensure your favorite products are in stock and available, or not quite ready to walk around our market, KPM2GO online ordering is there for you!
If you would like to visit our market in person, we offer two distinct entrances that are both located on 8th Avenue; the main entrance to our market vendors and a separate entrance into our Food Court where you will find our prepared food vendors. Our separate and distinct Food Court provides our customers with a quick and easy experience for those patrons who just want to grab some quick meals to go. It also makes finding your favorite prepared food vendors much simpler. Finally, we also offer early bird shopping for our seniors and persons with disabilities so they can shop safely from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings.
Kenosha Public Market’s Board of Directors is made up of 100% community driven volunteers who have come together with their own skill set, passion, experience and heart. From the beginning, our board mandated that our non-profit remained a vendor-centric market and committed to ensuring the success of our vendors. We are doing so by using a unique marketing plan, getting to personally know our vendors, and building a trusting relationship with each one of them. Moreover, it is important for us to know where our food comes from and to focus our attention on educating and building awareness so our community can improve their health and build a strong immune system (something that is so important during these uncertain times). Finally, it is important for us to build a strong relationship with our vendors and customers, as together, we will have a much more successful market.
After each successful Saturday market, it is rewarding to see so many social media posts that highlight families enjoying their fresh goods purchased from one of our more than 60 vendors. Whether it is a colorful vegetable tray, a grass-fed steak sizzling on the grill, or a cheese & charcuterie board waiting to be enjoyed, our customers are able to develop a healthier lifestyle by shopping at our farmers market. Our goal is to continue bringing our local vendors and consumers together so we will have a stronger and healthier community.
We hope that you will visit us online throughout the week and at the market on Saturdays from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. Please follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter so you can stay up-to-date on all of the latest information as we enjoy a “new way to market”!
By Gretchen Covelli
(This story originally appears the print version of the Summer/Fall 2020 issue of Downtown Kenosha Magazine)
