According to an Seattle Times article earlier this week, some local farmers are giving up their stalls at the Pike Place Market because of slow sales. They're finding it more profitable to vend at neighborhood farmers' markets, in fact, one of the reasons that Pike Place Market sales have been suffering seems to be the proliferation of neighborhood markets: shoppers now have more convenient opportunities to buy fresh produce directly from the farmers who grow it.
The Pike Place Market started in 1907 as a venue for consumers and producers to circumvent predatory wholesalers. The market has become a model for similar ventures in other parts of the country, and was a forerunner of the very farmers' market movement which is now competing for its customers.
In the meantime, Pike Place Market has grown into a prime destination spot for tourists. Farms like Tiny's Organics, who have been able to adapt their offerings and feature items like small packets of dried fruit, which tourists can easily carry home with them, are more inclined to continue selling there.
Pike Place Market may no longer be the local shopping destination that it once was, but there's still plenty of room there for producers who can tailor their offerings to suit the new clientele. In the meantime, there are now plenty of other places for farmers to sell directly to the public, if they're not happy with what's going on downtown.
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