• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Meadville Market House Works Hard to Return to Its Roots

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 June 2006, 21:00 CDT

By Jim Carroll, Erie Times-News, Pa.

Jun. 7--MEADVILLE -- Six butcher shops operated out of Meadville's Market House in its heyday, and customers should soon be able to find locally grown meat there again.

Market House officials are working with a Mercer County farmer to add frozen beef and pork products to its offerings and continue the push to take the historic structure back to its agricultural roots, said Alice Sjolander, agricultural program director for the French Creek Project.

The French Creek Project, a group born out of the environmental movement, took over management of the Market House almost one year ago -- on June 17. Its announced goals were to restore the Market House's agricultural heritage, develop a niche market for locally grown farm products, and help pump new life into Meadville's downtown.

"What we want is to keep farms green and productive and keep the downtown vibrant and alive," said French Creek Project Director Mark Gorman at the time of the management transfer.

The group is working to reduce the Market House's reliance on sales of crafts and gift items and increase its farm products.

Sjolander said the group has made progress.

Fresh produce comes from the Meadville Area Local Growers, a farmers group that sets up shop outside the Market House from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Fresh milk, in old-fashioned glass bottles, comes from the Pot O' Gold Dairy at Bear Lake, near Corry. Farms in central Pennsylvania and the Finger Lakes region of New York ship in goat's-milk cheese and raw milk cheese -- cheese that relies on the curing process rather than pasteurization to kill bacteria.

Bulk foodstuffs come from Butler County. And the Market House has two bakeries -- EJ Creations bakes cakes and cookies, while Creative Crust makes breads.

Sjolander hopes local farmers ultimately replace regional suppliers of value-added organic and specialty products. Managers also are looking at adding prepared foods and working to develop a Web site. A consultant is expected to deliver a new business plan in the coming weeks.

But despite the progress, the year has not been easy.

Inadequate 400-amp electrical service has restricted growth, and higher-than-anticipated utility costs have hit hard, Sjolander said.

The French Creek Project contracted to pay the Meadville Market House Authority $1,200 a month for three years, and in return the group selects and contracts for vendors and tenants inside and outside the building.

The Market House has yet to hit the break-even point for its new managers.

"It doesn't surprise me that it's a challenge. Market houses are very important to their communities, but it seems it is always a struggle to keep them going,"said Brian Hill, the former Meadville Market House master who is now chief executive of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the umbrella organization for the French Creek Project.

Hill, who ran the Market House from 1982 to 1987, said he was impressed with the operations on a recent visit to Meadville. "It looked vibrant. ...I would say it's on the upswing,"he said.

Sjolander said business is up and vendors have seen a difference. "It has been steadily getting busier," said Elizabeth Vozar, owner of EJ Creations.

The Market House keeps a strong draw for shoppers like Donna Murphy, a former Meadville resident who now lives in Edinboro. "I love the Market House. I stop here every time I'm back in Meadville."

-----

To see more of the Erie Times-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.GoErie.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, Erie Times-News, Pa.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Source: Erie Times-News

More News in this Category