Vancouver’s 1st pop-up shipping container market fills Granville Square
Enjoy food, drinks, and live entertainment while shopping from local vendors at Junction Public Market until Sept. 29
The Junction Public Market is open Tuesdays through Sundays and holiday Mondays from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. (Brylian Marin)
A new market has arrived in Vancouver this summer, offering a unique experience for all.
The Junction Public Market, located at Granville Square by Waterfront Station, opened on June 28, and unlike most markets, vendors work in customized shipping containers.
Patrick Carnegie, the principal of business development for Junction Event Partners, says the idea to bring this type of market to Vancouver started with a trip with his business partner, Rolanda Nygren, who is the principal of operations for the same business.
“In our travels to Arizona at one point, we saw a container market there, and that was a bit of an ‘Aha’ moment,” Carnegie says.
“I came from Toronto, and there’s a big one in Toronto called Stackt, so I was familiar with them already. But the more we thought about it, we thought that it would be a really great fit for Vancouver.”
He also says that the customized shipping containers fit in with the nearby port and are aesthetic and practical.
“We’re semi-permanent, so we need to provide our vendors with something that’s weather-proof, something that is secure that they can lock their goods in overnight, and … make it into a viable experience for them.”
Ahoo Entesarian, the founder of Puccissimé Pet Couture, is one of the vendors at the market and says she was surprised by the market and its shipping containers.
“I thought [it would be] one of these containers on the back of the ship, looking ugly, and every container is going to be a different colour,” she says.
“But they are dark gray, very big, and very well made. [When I look at them], I think these containers are made specifically for marketplaces, I don’t think they were ever designed to be shipping containers.”
Entesarian says she’s had positive experiences operating in the container and that it feels similar to being in a boutique customers can visit.
“The [container] that I have has a side window, which is really handy. I can put my products on the counter, and then I can have the doors open [on the other side].”
Carnegie says reception for the event has been overwhelmingly positive so far, adding that they are doing lots of testing and learning this year to reconvene next year.
“We’re really discovering what works and what doesn’t. We’re seeing who our customers are and what they like and what they don’t like, how we can best maximize the pedestrian traffic from hotels and cruise ships next door, and provide our vendors with a good experience,” he says.
Entesarian says she, along with other vendors, are also going through tests and trials with the new market.
“We are all learning about our own brands, about the event, about our customers,” she says. “So what I’m looking forward to is actually coming back stronger, not only as a vendor but also as a unit as part of the Junction Public Market.”
The Junction Public Market is free to attend and open Tuesdays through Sundays and holiday Mondays from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm until Sept. 29. For more information, visit www.junctionpublicmarket.com/.
