The Minneapolis Farmers Market, a Thursday fixture on Nicollet Mall since the 1990s, will not return to downtown Minneapolis this summer.

Following a pandemic-related hiatus, the market last summer resumed its longstanding tradition of Thursdays on Nicollet Mall, but executive director Ashley Nathe said, “there just wasn’t the same amount of foot traffic after the pandemic, with so many people working from home.” So this year, the market will focus on its main location on the western edge of downtown at 312 E. Lyndale Ave. N., which is open seven days a week, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. “It just seemed like the right move for us to make,” Nathe said.

Farmers markets have proliferated in recent years, with many smaller markets popping up in neighborhoods throughout the metro, creating competition for stalwarts like the Minneapolis Farmers Market, which is the largest and one of the longest running in the state, dating back to 1876. But the growth has tapered off since 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Last year, in a post-Covid crunch following the end of federal stimulus checks, some local markets were unable to raise the necessary funding to continue operating. Neighborhood Roots, a nonprofit that produces farmers markets in residential pockets of Minneapolis had to cancel the Nokomis Farmers Market in 2022 due to a budget shortfall, but that market is scheduled to reopen this summer, on June 14th. The group’s Fulton Farmers Market and Kingfield Farmers Market open for the season in May.

“The bigger picture is that people got comfortable in their communities during the pandemic, and we have hundreds of markets in neighborhoods,” said Leah Wong, vice president of external relations for the Minneapolis Downtown Council. “What does that mean for downtown? An opportunity for reinvention.”

The Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board recently announced a new series of Minneapolis Park Markets that will run from June through August. On Wednesdays, The Black Market, a local organization that highlights BIPOC entrepreneurs, will run a market at The Commons, 425 Portland Ave. S. near U.S. Bank Stadium. A Friday market at Water Works, 425 West River Parkway at Mill Ruins Park, will focus on Indigenous vendors and artists. The Mill City Farmers Market, also near the river at 750 S. Second St., kicks off its outdoor market season on May 6 and runs every Saturday through October.

Wong said plans are coming together to bring new activations to Nicollet Mall and The Commons. Expect announcements by late May. From her conversations with some of the largest employers in downtown Minneapolis, Wong said she is confident many are moving toward more regular office hours this summer.

A recent study conducted by the Minneapolis Downtown Council found the frequency of monthly visits to downtown Minneapolis in the last quarter of 2022 surpassed the same period in 2019. The voluntary survey included both city and suburban residents. In 2022, sports, concerts, and other events drew 8.6 million downtown visitors, a 68.6% increase over 2021. That comes close to 2019 levels when 9.4 million visited downtown Minneapolis.