Cleveland’s West Side Market: Family farms weather the economic downturn by building local customer base
West Side Market in Cleveland on April 20, 2012. (Photo by Elizabeth Wiley/UW Election Eye)
Cleveland’s West Side Market is packed with local vendors, fresh produce, and hope for an economic upswing.
CLEVELAND — Cleveland’s West Side Market is an indoor market taking up several city blocks. Smaller than Seattle’s Pike Place Market, it is more comparable in size to Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. Celebrating its 99th year, the market leans heavily towards the sales of meat products with specialty vendors selling everything from coffee to pastries and pastas. The weekends draw large crowds of customers threading their way from stall to stall.
Across the way is a smaller marketplace focused on produce. Aisles and aisles of colorful items line the stalls of the market: bountiful grapes, bananas, peppers, tomatoes, kiwis, and star fruits. Vendors call out to shoppers offering tastes of their wares — creating a loud, crowded, and energy filled environment.
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