Can't get enough of the Saturday Troy farmers market? Soon you'll be able to get your goods on Wednesdays, too (Albany Business Review)

This article originally appeared online in the Albany Business Review on Aug. 30, 2019.

Customers will have the chance to buy fresh veggies, meats and other local goods during the week when the popular Troy Waterfront Farmers Market starts hosting a Wednesday market this fall.

The weekly Wednesday market starts Sept. 4, from 11:30 a.m to 7 p.m., outside on the sidewalk along Broadway between Third and Fourth streets.

It will complement the weekly Saturday market, where thousands of people come into the downtown to buy goods from more than 100 vendors. The market is held outside on River Street and around Monument Square from May through October, and in the winter it is held inside the Troy Atrium.

The Wednesday market will be just outside the Atrium — near what could be the future entrance to a year-round indoor market. Leaders of the market have been negotiating with David Bryce since April for the indoor space. Bryce owns the Troy Atrium, the 1970s-era shopping mall-turned-office building.

The new midweek market will be a test run of how popular a year-round farmers market could be. There is space for about 20 vendors on an extra-wide sidewalk along Broadway, but the market will start with around a dozen vendors next week.

Zack Metzger, president of the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, told the Business Review the Wednesday market is a great opportunity to see how busy it could be during the week. He said negotiations are moving forward with Bryce, and there is potential the farmers market could move into the Atrium early next year.

The farmers market hired a consultant last fall — Project for Public Spaces — which recommended experimenting with hosting the market on another day during the week before committing to a year-round market.

“Over the last few years, the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market has been thinking of how it could evolve in the city of Troy,” Metzger said. “Adding a Wednesday market is the first step of many toward expanding our market offerings in downtown Troy.”