5/18/2018
Greg Cormier, My Stateline

ROCKFORD - Spring is here, so that means a Rockford favorite is too. Rockford City Market and it's vendors are back in business for the ninth season. After a record breaking attendance of 107,000 visitors last year, organizers hope to match it this time around. "If we end up around 100, 110,000 we think we're doing what we are set out to do," said Rockford City Market Manager Cathy McDermott. McDermott says the idea is to bring business growth to Rockford and the stateline. This year, 19 new vendors were added to the line up. "This now is an opportunity for a whole bunch of new entrepreneurs to come in and test out what they like to sell and try and grow their business," McDermott added. One of those new vendors is 808 Cheesecake out of Roscoe, offering Hawaiian inspired desserts."Ours are all handmade, I mean I make them all personally myself so you get the attention to detail," said 808 Cheesecake Manager Kelsi Getty. "The quality is better in my opinion because someone made it for you," she added. "Usually the fests we go to around our house in Glendale Heights are much more compacted and you can barely move. This is really open and nice," said Linda Reyna. Reyna and her husband Mel Reyna took in the market for the first time. They recently moved from the Chicago suburbs and say they'll be back. "We'll be here, we'll be checking out the fests that you guys have and we love following bands," said Mel Reyna. Regulars like Gretchen Roberts and Christy Challenger say they're excited to see the market grow and hope it continues. "More food, but expansion, maybe make it bigger, maybe more entertainment," said Christy Challenger. "It's really nice when entertainment is down here," she added. ------------------ The Forest City favorite, the Rockford City Market, opened for the season on Friday night with over a dozen new vendors. With fair weather, shoppers hit the tents for the 9th season of the Rockford City Market, sampling food, beer, cheese and art. Last year was a record-breaking year for the Market: in the 20 weeks it operated, 107,000 people came to take in the wares on display. The previous record attendance was 100,000 in 2015. With the Indoor Market coming soon, organizers say there is no shortage of potential growth for business in the Rockford area. Cathy McDermott, Manager of the Rockford City Market said, "I think it is kind of proven that it is something that people want. They come to downtown to see what the market has to offer, and then also go out to the businesses down here. The restaurants and the retail shops do awesome on Friday night and it actually exposes them for other days of the week as well."


For More Information:
http://www.mystateline.com/news/rockford-city-market-opens-for-9th-season/1187715026