Gather Local Market creates a sense of community in Saskatoon's Riversdale neighbourhood

If you've ever been to Granville Island in Vancouver, The Forks Market in Winnipeg, or the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, you know that something special happens when local food and drink are brought together in a centralized hub.

There's a buzzing energy and a sense of community that these types of market spaces offer, and now Saskatonians have one of their own — Gather Local Market.

Located at 414 Avenue B South in Riversdale, Gather is in the same building that housed the Saskatoon Farmers' Market prior to its 2019 move.

It's the brainchild of Ideas Inc., a local non-profit business incubator that helps entrepreneurs get their start. After completing extensive renovations and upgrades to the building, Gather opened its doors in May.

"It's meant to be a space for the community, by the community," said Adrea Propp, the operations manager for both Ideas Inc. and Gather. "We're really proud to say that all of the businesses that are operating inside and outside of Gather are Saskatchewan-owned, and they're all grassroots that have started from here."

The indoor market, which features 20 permanent vendors, is open Tuesday to Sunday year-round. It also offers a seasonal outdoor farmers' market on weekends and a seasonal night market on Thursday evenings.

Permanent indoor vendors include local food favourites including Pop's Shawarma YXE, The Prairie Grazer, Botté Persian Cafe and Taqueria Mexicana El Milagro, along with SaskMade Marketplace, a Saskatchewan-sourced grocery. Lucky Bastard Distillers operates a bar in the heart of the indoor space.

Local businesses come full circle

Some of the permanent indoor vendors at the market are opening a brick-and-mortar shop for the first time, while others are using Gather as a second location for their operations.

That includes The Prairie Grazer, which offers locally sourced artisan charcuterie. They already have a commercial kitchen space in Saskatoon, but their spot at Gather allows them to expand and provide something Saskatoon has not seen before — build-your-own charcuterie.

"​​I think it might be the first build-your-own charcuterie in all of Western Canada," said Meghan Hawkins, who co-owns the store with business partner Cristie Zyla.

Hawkins says they were intrigued by the idea of Gather because they had initially imagined The Prairie Grazer as a business operating within a market space.

However, because they opened during the COVID-19 pandemic that idea wasn't feasible at the time. Now, Gather is making that dream come true.

Laura Lagos, who owns and operates Taqueria Mexicana El Milagro, says her family is happy to return to the place where their business began.

The Lagos family opened their business — under the name La Taqueria Mexicana — as a stall at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market in 2014. While they now operate a restaurant in the King George neighbourhood, Lagos says Gather is something special.

"We were in that place at [the Saskatoon Farmers' Market] for almost five years," Lagos said. "People are so happy to see us there [again]."

Name says it all

Gather, true to its name, is a place not only for all sorts of local vendors, but for everyone in Saskatoon to enjoy.

"I feel like this is a truly accessible place for everyone," Propp said, noting that's true for parents bringing in newborns in strollers, ball teams coming for an after-game ice cream and people coming to pick up groceries or grab a drink after work. "There's not just a specific demographic who can utilize this space."

The vendors themselves are working hard to make the space accessible for everyone — including each other.

Lucky Bastard's bar offers its own spirits, of course, but it also has beer and cider from local breweries on tap.Likewise, The Prairie Grazer's build-your-own charcuterie showcases Saskatchewan flavours — such as bison salami from Bison Ridge Farms outside of Prince Albert.

Hawkins says  it's incredible to see how the vendors are supporting each other.

"I don't know that there's many places in the world where people support each other like they do in Saskatoon," she said. "We're all food vendors — there should be some competition, but instead it's a really uplifting community mindset of how … we get people into the space and showcase what Saskatoon has to offer.

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Getting people through the door is one thing, Propp says, but they're already seeing many repeat customers.

Cary Bowman, president of Lucky Bastard Distillers, describes the market as a "brilliant" addition to the city.

"The thing that's cool about Gather is you can go shopping for your groceries and carry around a cocktail," he said.

"I just think people need to check it out and they need to check it out more than once, because things are always going to be changing in there, which makes it fun."