BENTON — With the grand opening scheduled for next month, the new Benton Farmers Market is beginning to sprout a sense of excitement to community leaders.
“I am looking forward to improving the aesthetic of downtown and helping to renovate the area,” market director Brad Jordan said. “I want to bring more people into downtown Benton instead of them going to Little Rock or the outskirts of Benton and Bryant.”
Jordan, who also serves as the economic-development director for the city, said that when he was growing up in Benton, his mom shopped in the stores downtown, and he wants his children to have that same experience.
“The convergence and economics and social interaction — this what the farmers market is going to be,” Jordan said.
The market will be at the corner of Ashley and South streets downtown, behind Regions Bank, at 146 W. South St.
Benton Mayor David Mattingly said the farmers market has been a project of his and his staff for four years.
“I wanted to find something to help spark downtown,” Mattingly said. “We wanted to increase the traffic and bring people to Benton.”
Mattingly said the cost for the farmers market is approximately $520,000. But thanks to a partnership with area businesses, only a portion of the cost will be paid with tax money.
“We have raised enough funds that only 8 to 10 percent of that will be paid with taxes,” Mattingly said, “so I think people will be real happy about that.”
Parking at the farmers market will be somewhat limited, but Mattingly said area businesses have freed up spaces for the market.
“Twenty-eight cars can park here (at the corner of Ashley and South streets),” Mattingly said. “There will be an additional 40 spots across the street. So if two people are in the car, we could have as many as 140 here at a time.”
To help with the cost of maintaining the facility, Mattingly said, anyone can purchase a brick paver to be placed in a portion of the walkway from River Street to the market.
For $100 each, people can purchase a brick and engrave a name or names on it. Mattingly said there will be a total of 1,900 bricks.
“If all the bricks are purchased, that’s $19,000,” Mattingly said. “So it will help offset the cost, since it is a city-owned facility.”
Last year, Jordan said, he and a group that included a City Council member and the parks and recreation director traveled to Hernando, Mississippi, to see one of the top farmers markets in the country.
“They hosted us that Saturday and showed us the ins and outs, the best practices and the pitfalls,” Jordan said. “We also looked at some in state, including Springdale, Fayetteville and other Northwest Arkansas farmers markets.
“We have drawn from a lot of different sources.”
Jordan said one of the biggest takeaways was where the market needed to be located.
“It couldn’t be on the outskirts,” he said. “And I think that’s what happened with the one in Dumas. It wasn’t within walking distances of any of their commercial or retail buildings.
“This market needed to be among our commercial district.”
The current cost to use the market is $25 per season or $65 for a full season. The market will be held each Tuesday and Saturday of the season beginning May 1 and will run until Nov. 3.
The space can also be used for special occasions such as weddings, reunions or receptions on a first-come, first-served basis. For rental of the pavilion, there will be a $50 deposit and a cost of $25 per hour, with a two-hour minimum rental period.
“There is a staging area, so it will be open and available for small performances or a DJ,” Mattingly said.
Those interested in using the pavilion should contact Jordan at (501) 776-5938 or brad@bentonar.org.
“This was an idea that the mayor had, and he made it a reality,” Jordan said. “There was a lot of political capital on the line, and he went out and made the phone calls, the luncheons — that wasn’t any easy task.
“He should be commended so much for his leadership and effort. I was just really lucky to play a small part in it.”
Jordan said he is hounded constantly about when
the farmers market will open.
“It is a good thing when stuff like that is going on,” Jordan said. “There is this energy out there, especially when people see it happen.
“To have something — substance to look at and judge its progress, … it has been such a blessing to be a part of this process.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.