York News-Times Reprint
Written by Parker Garlough
A vendor marketplace is taking shape on the second floor of Wagner Decorating, 619 N. Lincoln Ave.
At full capacity, it may have up to 20 vendors. For now, there are five booths in place, and five more are signed up. Customers are already welcome at the marketplace.
“In the next one to three weeks, it’ll really start expanding,” Wagner Decorating owner Bruce Wagner said.
Wagner’s Marketplace is an attempt to adapt to a difficult business environment. People increasingly opt to purchase from larger corporations or online stores rather than independent businesses like Wagner Decorating, Wagner said in an August interview. Renting out part of his building mitigates that challenge.
“In 51 years, this is the biggest change I’ve made,” Wagner said.
The marketplace is open during Wagner Decorating’s regular hours. Vendors are not required to be physically present at their booths.
“We like the fact that it’s somebody going to be in the building … the whole time,” Brim and Design co-owner Amy Fernau said. “We like that he is an established business, so people are aware of the location.”
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| Brim and Design products are displayed at a Wagner’s Marketplace booth Wednesday afternoon. PARKER GARLOUGH York News-Times |
The marketplace may also have special after-hours events during which at least one of the vendors will be present.
“We’ve talked about wine tastings or moms’ day outs,” Fernau said. “There’s a wide variety of things that we’ve brainstormed.”
Wagner hopes it will be a good place for entrepreneurs to grow their side hustles.
“I started it in my basement when I was a new mom and needed a hobby,” vendor Alyssa Hetrick said of her business, Tattered Designs.
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| Tattered Designs products are displayed at a Wagner’s Marketplace booth Wednesday afternoon. PARKER GARLOUGH York News-Times |
Rather than a long-term contract, vendors rent booths on a month-to-month basis.
“It allows people that are just starting out the opportunity to show their stuff,” Fernau said. “It’s rotated in and out, so there’s always going to be something new in there, which is exciting as a vendor and as a shopper myself.”
A vendor marketplace can be a step toward expanding a business. Brooke McBride said she hopes to eventually have a permanent location for her business, Sparrow’s Cobbler.
“It can provide a kind of a storefront-type setting without all of the overhead costs,” McBride said.
Meanwhile, another vendor marketplace is preparing to open. Makers Row, founded by Aryn Zimmerman, will hold its grand opening at 712 N. Lincoln Ave. on Oct. 10.
“There’s tons of vendors, so I think it’s good,” Wagner said. “People will go from here to her place or vice versa. It won’t be competition, I don’t think. The more the merrier.”
