The long-awaited Milwaukee Public Market opened Saturday with the clang of a cowbell and the slicing of a loaf of bread.
A crowd of hundreds of shoppers stood outside listening to a bevy of speeches and waiting for the glass doors to open and reveal to them 21,500 square feet of exotic produce, farm-raised poultry and Wisconsin dairy products.
"The Milwaukee Public Market is about Milwaukee and is for Milwaukee," said Wendy Baumann, project leader for the Milwaukee Public Market, at the opening. "It is a hub of our diverse and growing city."
About 20,000 people attended the grand opening festivities this weekend, said Rebekah Schaefer, director of marketing and public relations for the market.
"It was an absolute success," Schaefer said. "I think the turnout was indicative of the pent-up anticipation for this to open."
Many members of the Saturday morning crowd said they thought it was about time Milwaukee had a public market, such as the Pike Place Market in Seattle or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
"Every great city has a public market, and I'm thrilled that Milwaukee now has one. I'm excited that we have something to anchor downtown," said Jean Dole, Marquette's chief advancement officer and campaign director of university advancement, who attended the opening. "This is a great idea. So many cities already have this sort of thing and we've been years behind."
Melissa Jamrock, a third-year graduate student at Marquette, lives downtown and said she thinks the market is a nice addition to Milwaukee.
"I've been waiting for this all summer and it's nice that it actually did open. It's a good tourist thing," she said. "It will be a nice place to get fresh fruit and vegetables for people on campus who are into organic stuff."
Other students said they appreciated the opportunity to buy organic.
Mary Chapman, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she thought the market was a little crowded and that there were not enough cashiers but found the overall experience to be pleasurable.
"It's awesome," Chapman said. "It's nice to buy from local farmers and not get a huge, non-organic steroid-infused apple."
The market includes everything from sushi to soup. Ethnic and world foods, artisan breads and cheeses and Wisconsin specialties are also available. The vendors include El Rey World Produce, St. Paul Fish Company, West Allis Cheese & Sausage and Cedarburg Coffee Roastery.
The market's Madame Kuony Kitchen offers cooking classes. "Traffic Jam" cooking classes will be held at 5:30 p.m. beginning tomorrow and will last one hour.
Although a variety of food options are available and customers can pick the quantity of foods they want, some people were divided on if shopping at the market will be economical.
"It seems like they have a lot of vendors but it won't fit a college student's budget," said Melinda McGuire, a second year graduate student at Marquette.
The market houses more than 20 specialty food vendors in addition to a seasonal Farmers Market located outside the structure.
While the Farmers Market, which is open Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., will close for the season on Nov. 13, the Market will be open six days a week year-round.
The Market had been in the works for eight years and was supposed to open July 15 along with the Farmers Market, but construction delays pushed back the Grand Opening to Oct.15, according to Schaefer.
This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 18, 2005.