Chalk up a win for for eastern Gurnee.
The Gurnee business corridor on Grand Avenue east of Route 41 has been challenged by lane closures and traffic back-ups for more than three years due to state projects, but last Sunday, traffic of a different sort crowded the area.
More than 500 people attended the first East Grand Farmers & Artisans Market on July 15, according to village officials, who hope it will help lead to a resurgence for businesses in the area.
“Hopefully, people reacquainted themselves with the variety of businesses on East Grand,” said Ellen Dean, economic development director for Gurnee, who noted that in addition to farmers and craft vendors at the market, several businesses from the area set up booths.
“It exceeded our wildest expectations,” Mayor Krysti Kovarik said, adding that she hopes the exposure to the local eastern businesses will bring people back to the area to visit stores they might not even have known existed in the village. “A lot of residents came from different parts of town.”
Officials said the village was hungry for a farmer’s market after a year without one. The last Gurnee Park District farmers market was held in 2016.
Both residents and vendors had been asking about whether a market would be returning, officials said, and Kovarik said the number of attendees and vendors demonstrated that there is clearly an interest in the event returning on a regular basis.
Kovarik said that since Sunday, additional vendors have asked about participating in the three remaining Farmers & Artisans Market dates this year, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the third Sundays of August (Aug. 19), September (Sept. 16) and October (Oct. 21) in the Salvation Army Parking Lot, 3559 Grand Ave., near the intersection of the Belle Plaine and Grand.
The market features more than 30 vendors offering a large variety of locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables, cut flowers, meats, baked goods, handmade crafts and more. It also includes children’s entertainment and food vendors.
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Assistant Village Administrator Jack Linehan said the return of the market accomplished two village goals — bringing the market back in response to requests and shining a light on the area businesses, who have seen customers dwindle due to traffic concerns.
Several store owners in the eastern corridor recently told the News-Sun that they have lost customers and business due to the ongoing Illinois Department of Transportation project to replace a Union Pacific Railroad bridge at Route 41 and Grand.
Lengthy back-ups on Grand at Route 41, especially westbound in the afternoon, often leave lines of traffic stalled for several blocks east of the bridge, and many drivers have learned to avoid the backups and use alternate routes.
Kovarik said the village hopes the state will have all lanes reopened by the end of this construction season, even if the railroad bridge reconstruction project is not completely finished.
In the meantime, the village has been doing what it can to help the eastern businesses, through promotions, reduced fees and now the relocation of the farmers market into the corridor. Businesses in the corridor also had the vendor fees for booths at the market waived.
Dean said the turnout for the first market is an optimistic sign for the village overall and the eastern sector.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled,” Dean said. “There was a lot of enthusiasm from the community.”
More information about the new farmer’s market, including a list of vendors, is posted at the village’s website at www.gurnee.il.us/business/eastgrandmarket.