Opening Day Announced for New Artisan Farmers Market

Mark your calendars, because organizers just announced the first day for Lake View’s new artisan outdoor marketplace, the Low Line Market.

Slated for Thursday, June 6 from 3-8 p.m., the Low Line Market will be Lake View’s only weeknight agricultural market, but it won’t be like a traditional farmers market. Every Thursday, 12 vendors will gather beneath the Southport Avenue “El” tracks on the west side of the street to sell not only fresh produce, but mostly locally made artisan foods.

Heather Way, the executive director of the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce, is orchestrating the event. She says the market will be about 35 percent produce and 65 percent unique goods, with one booth that’s constantly rotating new local vendors.

“We’re talking handcrafted foods, artisan foods, things that have a lower distribution,” Way said. “We did a lot of research around this… We found that (consumers are more interested) if we mixed it up with some specialty products, with things they cant get at a regular grocery store. Something like Aunt Bee’s homemade honey.”

“It’s one thing at a time… It doesn’t seem like anything that isn’t insurmountable. It’s just going to take time."

And like the Low Line Market’s tagline, the weekly event is truly “something small to kick of something big” in Lake View.

The new market all part of the Lakeview Chamber’s overall plan to construct a walkable market beneath the Brown Line train tracks from Southport Avenue to Paulina Street. And while the ‘Low Line’ is modeled after New York City’s famous High Line, getting the approval is taking some time.

Way has been consistently meeting with representatives from CTA for more than a year to get the approvals necessary for a trail beneath the Brown Line train tracks. For a brief period of time Way the Low Line was put on the back burner to get the market approved, but now it’s full steam ahead with getting the unique trail the green light.

“It’s one thing at a time,” Way said. “…It doesn’t seem like anything that isn’t insurmountable. It’s just going to take time. Even after a year of discussions and showing (CTA representatives) drawings, they haven’t given us a full green light to do anything, but they get it and they haven’t said no. It’s just a matter of safety.”

And a successful Low Line Market is all a part of the big picture when it comes to connecting Southport and Paulina with a new trail.

“Our focus now is to get people acclimated to being around the train and (not just) experiencing things that happen in urban settings, but right next to the train,” said Way. “So, when people have to start walking under the train, it’s not as big of a shock.”

Stay in the loop and RSVP for the Low Line Market on Facebook.