Photo submitted by Andrew MacDonald.
The city has hired on the acting manager of the Saint John City Market to run the space full time.
Andrew MacDonald, who has worked as assistant manager and acting manager, will permanently take on the role as manager of the iconic uptown marketplace.
“I love markets, I’ve been around them for a long time,” said MacDonald, who previously managed the Charlottetown farmer’s market, and also helped Saint John establish its Night Market in 2019.
“I became very interested in the idea of working for the city of Saint John, and at the market for a long time. I don’t want to get all cosmic here, but it feels right,” he said with a laugh.
In his new role, MacDonald is now tasked with the tall order of helping the market rebound to its former glory amid a global pandemic and economic downturn. Having lost many vendors over the past few years, the pandemic forced several other tenants to close-up shop, either temporarily or permanently.
“Right now, there’s no secret that we’ve got some vacancies in the market,” MacDonald said. “It’s been hard obviously for businesses all over the world, so it’s no different here. There’s some empty spaces in the market, and we really want to see those spaces fill up, and we want to move back to the robust, happy, bustling city market that we have in our memories.”
The city is planning to utilize some of the empty stalls this winter, by running a Winter Market each Saturday through the holiday season. MacDonald says the plan allows vendors to get a feel for the market without needing to commit to a longer-term lease.
The weekly event also provides residents the opportunity to shop from local business owners safely despite the ease of online retailers as the Saint John region remains in the orange phase of recovery.
“Am I worried right now? Of course. It’s hard for people to run a business, and I talk with business owners everyday who are having a really hard time, and it’s scary right now,” MacDonald said. “But I do have high hopes and a lot of confidence that we’re going to get to where we need to be.”
Though the immediate future may seem somewhat dire, MacDonald says he remains optimistic about the future of the oldest active farmer’s market in Canada.
“I don’t mind saying: I don’t have any fear for the long-term of the market, I really don’t… I’m excited. I can visualize what it’s going to be like here, and I’ve got a lot of excitement for that.”
