Artisan Night Market Debuts Wednesday Night at Waterford Lakes


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THIS IS TOMORROW NIGHT:
  • What: TheDailyCity.com Night Market
  • When: September 26, 2012
  • What time: 6-9pm
  • Where: Waterford Lakes Town Center, between the movie theatre & Pier One Imports
  • About: Orlando's very first monthly artisan night market debuts WEDNESDAY NIGHT with antiques, used books, vegan doughnuts, artisan marshmallows, vintage clothing, designer posters, and Orlando's very first fashion truck 
  • The next time this happens: Wednesday October 24, same time, same place
  • Orlando Business Journal's article
Vendors for September 26:
TheDailyCity.com, which brought Orlando The Food Truck Bazaar, Orlando Improv Festival, Audience Choice Awards and Mobile Art Show, is bringing a new event currently titled "TheDailyCity.com Night Market" to Orlando, in partnership with Waterford Lakes Town Center. It will have a two-month experimental run. 

Originally, Waterford Lakes asked TheDailyCity.com's owner Mark Baratelli (About | Facebook | Email) to put on a traditional farmers market. But he had a different idea. "I loved what I saw when I was in New York City. In one market alone, you'd see a vendor with stack of old books, next to a vendor with a box of beautiful antique doorknobs, next to a vendor with custom t-shirts, next to a vendor with artisan foods. And everything was interesting. There wasn't a dud in the mix. Thats what I wanted to bring to Waterford Lakes Town Center. 

Baratelli is combing through Orlando's creative scene, looking for vendors. So far, he has found eleven for the first market taking place Wednesday September 26, 2012, 6-9pm. 
The task wasn't easy. The vendors he was going after didn't do farmers markets, and if they did, were burned out on them and didn't want to take on another. "Lots of people said no because they had never done a market, or didn't see the benefit, or had done markets and didn't want to try them again. And many didn't even have storefronts. Some sold online exclusively. 

Another challenge was to make sure the market vendors did not compete with the existing businesses in Waterford Lakes Town Center. "My goal was to present a collection of vendors so vastly different from what Waterford already has, that no store could point and say "They're competing with us." I want them to look at the vendors and really feel that the market compliments and adds to the guest experience."

Baratelli believes that, though the market will start off very small with eleven vendors, it could have a positive impact on business at the center. "As I saw repeatedly while putting on The Food Truck Bazaar in cities all over Central Florida, injecting more businesses into the center of a business district once a month adds to the bottom line of the businesses that are there every day of the month. You'd think just the opposite. 'If I bring in 15 food trucks right into downtown Mount Dora, won't the restaurants of Mount Dora suffer?' No. Same thing can be said of Kissimmee and New Smyrna Beach, for example. In fact, some businesses say that the night The Food Truck Bazaar comes into town is one of the busiest nights they have each month." If I can have that impact on Waterford Lakes Town Center, that'd be awesome. But I don't think the place is hurting for business so they should be ok either way."

Its also good for the overall culture of the area, says Baratelli. "Did you know Orlando has an artisan marshmallow maker, an 80-vendor antique dealer and a vegan muffin maker? All that will be in Waterford Lakes Town Center for three hours a month. How can that not be a good thing?"

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