Right in Our Region
Indoor City Market is Year-Round Fun
By Peggy Werner ost people know Rockford City Market offers a fun opportunity to stroll along the riverfront with loved ones, browse the wares of local vendors and listen to outdoor live music in summer and fall. Not everyone knows it’s much more than that. The market has a year-round indoor space at 116 N. Madison St., where small businesses sell their goods. The restored turn-of-the-century building offers spaces people can rent for meetings, weddings and other events. People can attend year-round activities and classes there, explains Cathy McDermott, executive director of Rock River Development Partnership, the owner of Rockford City Market. There’s a large, licensed commercial kitchen that can be rented by fledgling businesses. Plans are underway to offer
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cooking classes in the kitchen, both for children and adults. “It has become an entity all its own with both an indoor facility and outdoor market where people from the community can get together to buy locally grown produce and handmade goods, encouraging entrepreneurs to start a business, or grow a business by getting exposure,” says McDermott. “It’s a great forum where small businesses can grow and make adjustments based on what is and isn’t working for them.” This spring, the The Velvet Robot Coffee Lab will open inside the indoor market. It debuted at the outdoor market last summer and was so popular that its owner, Rockford native Justin Carner, applied to open a full menu location inside the market. Other tenants inside the indoor city
market include Crust and Crumbles, an artisan bakery café offering breads, croissants, Danishes and other baked good as well as coffee and breakfast items on Saturday; Ronit’s Kitchen, offering Mediterranean-style cuisine inspired by generations of family recipes from Israel; and Quixotic Bakery, which sells ice cream, bakery items and chocolates. Several other local businesses got their start at the outdoor market, including Woodfire Brick Oven Pizza, Bella Luna Bakery, Bath & Body Fusion, The Canine Crunchery and Candle Crest Soy Candles. McDermott emphasizes that local businesses play a vital role in any community and the city market is a good forum to help them get off the ground. “Local businesses are important because they’re the heart of your city and
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