7 min

Tt post dec 28, 2015

15 years ago, in addition to Messina's Deli, a large Mediterranean food vendor existed. I think that the large fishmonger area was managed by Rohrs. Prior to opening the Bronze Boar, the owner managed a wine area in the Market bay. I bought beef jerkey from a local farmer. A soul food vendor also existed. Additional food and coffee vendors existed at both ends at the Market bay entrance near the parking lot.

During the week, my wife and I would eat lunch often at the Market bay because of the variety of food that existed in a small area. It was nice to munch on prosciutto, bread, and cheese or something from the Mediterranean food vendor.

A person living in that area could have also purchased some household food items on a few days during the week at the Market bay. It wasn't all ready-to-eat food. And non-food vendors existed too.

I don't know if I have any photos of the Market bay in 2000-2001. I probably do on film that was never developed. The Toledo Blade might have photos.


A couple old Blade stories ...

January 2002 - already, the amount of empty space was increasing in the Market bay.

A patron passes by some of the empty stalls in the food area of the market, where the occupancy rate now is 73 percent.

It was at capacity in 2000-2001.

Adding to the tension is Frogtown Square, an adjacent bay that opened in September [2001] for nonfood gifts.

Some of the Market bay vendors may have moved next door to the Frogtown bay.

Some vendors at the Erie Street Market are gagging, but it isn't from the hot sauce on the shelves at Compliments.

The market's independent management board, still in its first year, is pressuring vendors to sign annual leases for the first time and accept a rent increase.

The lease raises annual rents from $15 per square foot to $17.

“They're going to lose 75 percent of the merchants,” said John Orr, who operates Beer & Wine Sellers. “It's not that profitable.” He said he's ready to close and devote himself to his new business, the Bronze Boar tavern and cigar bar two blocks away.

This might be something significant from that January 2002 story:

Mr. Orr expressed his concerns to city Councilman Peter Gerken, an ex officio member of the Erie Street Market board. Mr. Gerken told him that if the vendors don't like the way the market is run, they can leave.

Do you actually think that Toledo government thinking has changed in 15 years?

And this may have been one of the problems with the ESM: it was subsidized by taxpayers. And as the previous decade wore on, the ESM became the Erie Street Sinkhole because of the absurd amount of tax money that was flushed down that drain.

An audit conducted [in 2001] showed the market's budgeted revenue for last year was $245,000 from the city's general fund, $185,000 from a federal community development block grant from the city, and $343,480 from income the market generated.

More from that January 2002 story:

Lou Messina, owner of Messina's Italian Deli, said he's not happy about the rate increase or the uniform lease, and said he won't be able to turn in a signed lease by the board's Jan 31 deadline. But he's in support of a more organized market.

“People should think about this as a whole unit,” he said. “In a mall, everyone negotiates their own lease, but everybody needs to abide by rules and regulations.”

Jeff McCann, general manager of Rohr Fish, Inc., said, “There are issues, but you have to put everything into perspective. We have to operate like a business.

“You're assuming by the hours on the door that everybody's open, and that's not always the case,” he said.

The market opened in the heart of the Warehouse District in 1997 under direct city control. It was transferred to an independent board in May, and the board hired Ms. Baldwin.

Market vendors were reluctant to speak on the record about their concerns. Several said it's unreasonable to expect strict compliance with posted hours because, on certain days in the late afternoon, the market is empty.


May 2002 Blade story

With a weekly output of 250 pounds of homemade potato chips, not to mention cups of coffee and sandwiches, Tracy Saba makes a steady income at TJ's Cafe in the Erie Street Market. A charter member of the market, Mrs. Saba is just glad to be here.

“To be able to be here five years and still make it is a wonderful thing for me,” Mrs. Saba said at her cafe. “I love the market.”

After five years of turmoil and management changes, the public market in Toledo's old Civic Auditorium in the Warehouse District will mark a low-key anniversary on Saturday.

To most Toledoans, the Erie Street Market is the food bay, with such stalwarts as Messina's Italian Deli and Rohr Fish & Seafood. But the food bay accounts for only about a quarter of the market's space.

Occupying the other three bays are the Libbey Factory Outlet, Superior Antique Mall, and the recently opened Frogtown Square. Outside the market is the Toledo Farmer's Market.

Food vendors fret over the seeming inability of the market's board to lease the vacant stalls and to fill the place with customers. Meanwhile, the market's managers counsel patience and say the tea leaves point to an optimistic future.

“The marketplace looks really bad. We have five more newly emptied places,” said Susan Watkins, who runs Compliments, a hot sauce stand.

Ms. Watkins said she's upset about a recent rent increase, from $15 to $17 a square foot, annually, and the management's hard line that is successful at pushing out vendors who don't pay their rent - while not quickly filling the stalls with new merchants. Food vendors have no representative on the market's governing board since she stepped down last year, she said.

The Erie Street Market Development Corp. was formed in December, 2000, and took over day-to-day operations May 1, 2001.

Ms. Baldwin is the seventh market manager. “They're my support group,” Ms. Baldwin joked of her predecessors.

The city continues to pay for all utilities, maintenance, and capital improvements. However, the city's cash-operating subsidy is going down.

Mrs. Saba of TJ's Cafe complains that the market's board of directors is isolated from the merchants and does not seek input from merchants. But she said merchants have to be realistic too.

“You've got to be willing to work,” she said. “I think people are just afraid because there are empty spots.”

A growing number of empty stalls in 2002. It was toast.

Excerpts from my comments back in 2001 and 2002.

September 2001:

The Erie Street Market is indoors in an old [renovated] warehouse. There are all kinds of little businesses located here. Some are only open on the weekends and others everyday.

August 2002:

... [In 2001] there was no room for any new businesses. It was a nice problem to see, actually, that all available space in the market was being used. That was last year.

Before discovering the little coffee place [My Daily Grind] in Perrysburg [in July 2002], my midday retreats were at the Erie Street Market. I visited the Market this past Sunday. It was the first time I had been there in about two months. I was shocked at what I saw.

There is a lot of empty space in the Erie Street Market now. A year ago, the ends of the aisles and every corner had some kind of little business. Now, it's about as empty as it was when I first visited the place, shortly after it opened. The Italian and Mediterranean places are still there. The guy who owns the Bronze Boar closed up shop in the Market.

The Market losing businesses hasn't been an overnight thing. I noticed businesses disappearing at the beginning of this year [2002]. It used to be, when a business left, another one filled its spot right away. I don't consider the Market a good place to open a shop now. Last year, I heard that the lease rates for space at the Erie Street Market were raised a lot, and I wonder if [that] forced people out?

#toledo #business #politics

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