It's been one month since we revealed the St. Roch Community Partners' plans for the historic, just-renovated St. Roch Market, and tomorrow the group is going to lay it all for the public. A press release (see below) announces a meeting where they'll present their proposal to operate the market and they're also seeking feedback from the community. For those just tuning in, the SRCP founders are:
· Richard Sutton of St. James Cheese Co.
· Seth Hamstead of Cleaver & Co.
· Graison Gill of Bellegarde Bakery
· Neal Morris of Redmellon Restorations and Developments
· Catherine Markel of Faubourg Wines
An updated biz plan has been released and the new potential vendor layout in the market does not include labeled stalls, like before. Neal Morris of Redmellon Restorations and Developments explained that some thought the "produce, flowers, wine" and other descriptions of the stalls were set-in-stone plans, when they were meant to be viewed as vendor possibilities. Some of the highlights:
· There is still a strong emphasis on affordability.
· The current plan calls for 12 stalls in the market with SRCP operating two of them to sell fresh produce and "staples (e.g. rice, flour, sugar, spices) at low prices."
· The other spots will go to for-profit vendors "selling seafood, meat, bread, cheese, etc." A stipulation? They will only lease to local vendors with locally produced or locally sourced products.
· As for the restaurant plans, preferences will go to a job/life skill-training program like Café Reconcile or Liberty's Kitchen, or a joint offering fresh seafood; or a place with a proven track record of providing low cost, high quality meals.
· They also want to put together community outreach programs like cooking demos and meal planning seminars.
· St. Roch Market coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· St. Roch Community Partners business plan [Redmellon]