But what they need is the same thing as the drive to open a public market in Portland in the mode of Pike Place in Seattle or Granville Island in Vancouver, B.C.
Originally, the vision was to put the market, named for Oregon native and pioneering chef/cookbook author James Beard, smack in the heart of downtown Portland, opposite Naito Parkway and overlooking the Willamette River.
“I’m very confident we still have support at the city and state level—the city needs a public market now more than ever,” Granum said in an interview this week.
In 2019, the Portland Public Market Foundation somewhat controversially landed a $400,000 grant from the state legislature for continued feasibility studies, despite some lawmakers at the time pointing out that the effort had already received nearly a million dollars in public funds with little to show for the results.
During the most uncertain months of the pandemic, like so many other parts of society, the public market effort went virtual.
Granum, though, says his focus will shift back to bricks and mortar in the year ahead.
The James Beard Public Market, however, is not overtly called out in the OMSI district development plans, which were released last week.
The Portland Farmers’ Market has expanded its reach and footprint, both citywide and year-round, established food cart pods are now in almost every neighborhood, and upscale new indoor markets and food halls showcasing fresh produce and prepared foods alike have opened, including Providore on Sandy Boulevard and Cooperativa in the Pearl District.