Downtown Farmers Market Moves to New Main Street Location This Saturday

The Downtown Certified Farmers Market is headed to a new address this weekend. Beginning Saturday, March 7, the market will operate on Main Street between 10th and 12th streets — in front of the Riverside County Courthouse — offering vendors and shoppers more space and easier access to free parking.

Ward 1 Councilmember Phillip Falcone championed the move as an opportunity to expand the market and activate a less-trafficked stretch of Downtown. The courthouse grounds feature mature trees, rose gardens, lawns, fountains, and benches, and the city is planting additional trees this month as part of an America 250 initiative.

"The relocation will allow this market to expand and become larger, have much more free and available parking, and does the necessary work to expand the downtown footprint by activating this portion of Main Street," Falcone said.

The market has operated at its current location on Main Street between 5th and 6th streets for more than 20 years, and the move has not been without criticism. Four longtime regulars — Tracy Kahn, Norm Ellstrand, Connie Ransom, and Leone Palagi — wrote to Falcone and other city officials opposing the relocation, saying they learned of the permanent change just one week before it takes effect. They argued the current spot creates valuable foot traffic near the Mission Inn and Convention Center and expressed concern that vendors could see a drop in sales. "It creates a lovely synergy with nearby businesses," they wrote. "It is like an Italian Piazza where people gather."

Falcone said the relocation had been in the works for months and discussed at publicly open Riverside Downtown Partnership meetings. He added that he personally spoke with the majority of businesses on Main Street between 5th and 6th, saying most were either indifferent, understanding, or supportive of the change. He also cited complaints from nearby brick-and-mortar businesses that the market's current location creates parking challenges and blocks storefronts — particularly on busy convention weekends.

He acknowledged the new location will require an adjustment period and said he plans to evaluate the site over the coming weeks. "Change isn't always horrible," he wrote. If the location isn't working after a year, he said, the City would revisit the decision.

More information: The Downtown Riverside Certified Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. Starting March 7, find it at Main Street between 10th and 12th streets in Downtown Riverside.