On the second Saturday in August, September and October, the Durango Farmers Market will travel from its usual TBK Bank parking lot to three blocks of Main Avenue.
The pilot program, arranged by the Business Improvement District, the Durango Farmers Market and the city, will close the 900, 1000 and 1100 blocks of Main Avenue. This will allow the market to spread out and give space to new vendors who couldn’t fit at TBK Bank.
“That extra room is transformative,” said Market Manager Anna Knowles. “It lets us expand to over 100 booths, adding more than 20 additional spaces beyond what we can normally fit.”
The choice of location, timing and duration of stay were all carefully decided by Knowles, Main Avenue business owners and BID leaders.
“I don’t do anything unless I check it with my businesses, and we’ve had extensive conversations with everyone to ask for their support in trying this,” said BID Executive Director Tim Walsworth.
Organizers had to consider access for emergency vehicles and the impact on parking and existing businesses in bringing the market to Main Avenue.
“The pros, in this case, are that you bring 1,500 people to Main Avenue,” Walsworth said. “The cons are that you’re closing the street to parking and traffic on a Saturday. That’s the tension right there.”
Businesses occupying the 900, 1000 and 1100 blocks seem to be satisfied with the terms reached, he said, and overall they view the occasional market on Main Avenue as a positive.
“I’m not worried about our business being taken away,” said Claire Carver, co-owner of Carver Brewing Co., located at 1022 Main Ave. “I actually think the opposite. It’ll be a collaboration. It’ll deliver a bunch of people to Main Avenue. We often see people coming in for lunch post-farmers market, and instead of needing to walk a couple of blocks, they’ll already be right there.”
Kris Oyler, co-founder and CEO of Peak Brewing Co., who owns several businesses in Durango, including El Moro Tavern in the 900 block of Main Avenue, shared Carver’s outlook.
“I’m looking forward to it bringing additional vibrancy and community to Main Avenue,” Oyler said. “I really support having it there on occasion.”
Walsworth said he plans to treat this as a trial run and wants feedback from the business community. Whether the market returns to Main Avenue next season – or even expands to more Saturdays – will depend on how business owners and the community respond, he said.
“If it’s an overwhelming response that this was not helpful, we won’t do it again,” he said.
Walsworth said he anticipates the Main Avenue and Durango Farmers Market collaboration will be positive for business owners and the community.
“It’s going to be wonderful,” he said. “Locally grown fresh food and a lot of artists and vendors right in the heart of downtown Main Avenue (with) our historic buildings – we’re delighted to bring that flavor back to downtown, and I think it’s going to be a hit.”
Knowles said she hopes the pilot markets are just the beginning.
“If they go well, the next step would be working with the city of Durango and Durango BID to potentially bring all six second Saturdays of the 2026 season – May through October – downtown on main street,” she said.
“We want the Durango Farmers Market to be a lifeline for our community,” she said. “Not just a place where people shop, but where people gather. A space where neighbors connect, ideas are shared and the entire local food system is celebrated and strengthened.”
epond@durangoherald.com
