More ideas about (library) buildings and food (the Florida Market)

Ferry Market Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco. AP Photo.

Am trolling through the bizjournals website and already there are two interesting articles.

1. Kitchens catch fire: Red-hot Ferry Building rings up $50M food tab is about the success of the Ferry Building food market "district" in San Francisco. From the article:

Conceived as a magnet for finicky foodies, the Ferry Building has turned into a gold mine for Bay Area restaurateurs. Anchor tenant Slanted Door reports revenue of $12 million per year, thanks to tables that often host three rounds of diners at lunch and nearly as many again at dinner. Restaurant MarketBar is taking in $5 million per year; burger joint Taylor's Refresher close to $3.6 million per year. Even the building's bakery, taqueria and tiny caviar shop report they are on track to each make more than $1 million per year. The tallies translate into sales per square foot of $1,000 and in some cases beyond $1,500 per square foot -- double or triple what a retailer in a typical large Bay Area mall might expect...

Commercial tenants said the success comes from the building's image as a genuinely unique food destination, an image fed by everything from the local farmers' market, which relocated to the Ferry Building when it reopened three years ago, to Wilson Meany Sullivan's resolve to keep the building focused on sustainable, locally produced food.

Partner Chris Meany and others in the firm spent half a decade meeting with top restaurant operators, grocers, producers and retailers. They toured Europe and crisscrossed the United States examining top food destinations before deciding to reach for something as unique as possible.

In addition to the developer's vision and the farmers' market, the building has also thrived by aiming itself at not just tourists, but locals as well. Office workers clog Ferry Building restaurants at lunch, while people from farther reaches of the Bay Area flood in on the weekend. Chefs from several San Francisco hotels lead out-of-towners on food-buying excursions to the farmers' markets and Ferry Building shops...

"There is a hunger for authenticity," Meany said, "in an age when the retail, especially, is more duplicative."

The Florida Market district has plenty of authenticity. What it has lacked is love and appreciation and a keen understanding of the benefits and tenets of asset-based community development.

Here's another story on the Ferry Market, "A Ferry-tale beginning by the Bay: Downtown San Francisco food market emerges as a gastronome's paradise," from the Orange County Register, and it shows the extensive marketing and promotion done by the market. From the article:

Many public events add to the attraction of the rejuvenated Ferry Building. History buffs can learn about the 106-year-old building from pictures and text posted near the central entrance. There are also tours that include historical information.

• City Guides, a civic organization staffed largely by volunteers, conducts free tours at noon Saturdays, Sundays and Tuesdays. Meet at the stairs to the second floor at the main entrance. Reservations are required for groups of eight or more. The tours last 45 minutes to an hour. For information, go to sfcityguides.org or call (415) 557-4266.

• Food personality Sally Bernstein and Ramekins Sonoma Valley Culinary School offer tours of the marketplace and the farmers market that include special tastings and lunch at Charles Phan's Slanted Door restaurant. For a schedule and registration, go to www.sallys-place.com or call (415) 518-8221.

•Cowgirl Creamery, the Point Reyes artisanal cheese maker, presents a different cheese maker every Saturday at the outdoor stand just north of the main entrance. Guest cheese makers from all over the country participate in this series.

Marketing is a good thing...



2. Libraries. While I understand people's fear about change, some of the talk and criticism of the library planning process, in my opinion, is misdirected. Mixed-use can be desirable and provides the kind of layering of attractions that makes great places. The Kansas City's Museum of Science and History discussed in an entry below is a perfect example of this.

This article, Blending books & fresh brews: Library cafe features vegetarian fare, coffees from around the world, is an example of a mixed-use aspect of a library in Florida. From the article:

David Kahan and his extended family operate the Z-Cafe in the Orange County Public Library at 101 E. Central Blvd. in downtown Orlando and a mini-location at the Alafaya branch library at 2000 E. Colonial Drive. The 40-seat downtown cafe, which opened a year ago, serves a wide-ranging menu, including a big vegetarian selection and a choice of more than 70 individual coffees, each freshly ground and brewed to order.

Z-Cafe at the Orlando Public Library. Image from Mike Levin's weblog.

Index Keywords: libraries; florida-market-dc