INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Shoppers coming to the Indian River Mall to escape the heat and score a deal can soon expect to get a little grocery or gift shopping done at the same time.
Starting in August, the mall will play host to a “green” market – offering fresh produce, flowers, prepackaged foods, artwork, handmade crafts and other goods not already found there. In partnership with Keep Indian River Beautiful, which recently opened its office near Macy’s, the green market is expected to entice shoppers to buy locally produced items and promote green efforts.
Kristy Sturdivant, executive director of KIRB, said the intent is to bring in local vendors who will complement – not compete with – the existing businesses within the mall.
Ursula Gunter, Indian River Mall’s marketing director, said the green market will be the first indoor market in the county and would be an alternative for those who don’t want to brave the heat of summer.
“That will be our selling point,” Gunter said of the air conditioning the mall has to offer.
Gunter has been tasked with finding new ways to bring more people into the mall, and the green market sprang from that directive, she said.
Currently, the mall has eight vendors who have signed up for the first market, which will be held Aug. 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. The markets are scheduled for the same time, every other Saturday.
Along with offering fresh produce and food, vendors could include locally produced art, antiques and crafts.
Sturdivant said the green market would be a farmers’ market with a touch of flea market thrown in.
Vendors wanting to learn more about how to participate in the green market can contact Ursula Gunter by calling (772) 770-9404 or e-mail [email protected].
