2nd Street Market

photos by Mackenzie Frank

Dayton, Ohio—

There’s a place in downtown Dayton where you can sip on a cool local gazpacho while you examine woven alpaca textiles, sample a savory French crêpe and pick up garden tools, or tuck into a New Zealand meat pie and peruse a selection of handmade jewelry.

All this and more is possible at Dayton’s 2nd Street Market, operated by Five Rivers MetroParks. The market, located in a historic former freight house, runs year round Thursday through Sunday. First started 30 years ago at Wegerzyn Gardens the market moved to a new home in a repurposed industrial corner of Dayton in 2001–with more space to grow. Its mission to connect local growers with buyers and promote programs that encourage access to local food and organic products is realized with the market’s more than 50 carefully curated vendors. With a goal of zero waste, vendors are prohibited from using styrofoam, and the market features a recycling program with a compost initiative in the works.

What draws more than 300,000 visitors to the market every year? According to longtime manager (now retired) Jimmy Harless, “Our vendors have a special relationship with their customers. There’s a trust. People who buy from these folks know they grew it, they produced it, they raised the animal.”

He continues, “We see the same faces every week, but we also have visitors from all over the world.” One of the vendors, Bellbrook Chocolates, displays a map studded with pins representing its customers’ home cities and countries. Says Harless, “We’re a destination for folks to take out-of-town visitors. We’ve got the best people-watching in Dayton.”

---

2nd Street Market
600 E. Second St., Dayton, OH
937.228.2088
Manager: Lynda Suda
MetroParks.org
Hours:
Thu–Fri 11am–3pm
Sat 8am–3pm
Sun 11am–3pm