September 30, 2025 • 30 mins
Detroit's Eastern Market is more than its famous Saturday crowds. CEO Katie Trudeau reveals how this 120-year-old food district serves as an economic engine for Southeast Michigan, transacting over $200,000 annually in SNAP benefits while pioneering food access programs like Double Up Food Bucks.
Unlike tourist-focused markets elsewhere, Eastern Market maintains authenticity through its working food district—produce houses, meatpackers, and processors operating alongside weekend vendors. The new Shed 7 wholesale distribution center will support midsize Michigan farmers and urban growers while serving the region's diverse grocery ecosystem.
Through the "Authentic Eastern Market" campaign (nearly $15.5 million raised), the nonprofit guides neighborhood development to complement rather than displace the district's food-centered identity. With events like Murals in the Market and Eastern Market After Dark, plus emerging restaurants and breweries, the market evolves while preserving its essential role in Detroit's food landscape.
As Trudeau says: "People who don't love this place are people who don't know about it." Discover how this institution balances preservation with growth while creating food-based opportunities for the next generation.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Craig Fahle (00:19):
Greetings everyone.
Welcome to the VVK Podcast.
I'm your host, Craig Fahle.
On this program, we explore thepeople, ideas and innovations
shaping our community, and todaywe're talking about one of
Detroit's most beloved andenduring institutions.
Eastern Market.
It's more than just a place toshop for fresh produce.
It's a vibrant hub for food,entrepreneurs, cultural exchange
(00:40):
and community connection.
Our guest today will be KatieTrudeau, CEO of the Eastern
Market Partnership.
Under her leadership, themarket continues to grow as a
cornerstone of Detroit's foodeconomy, while also playing a
key role in shaping the futuredevelopment of the surrounding
neighborhood.
We'll discuss the market's richhistory, its evolving role in
the city and what's next forthis iconic destination.
(01:01):
That's coming up on the VVKpodcast.
Stay with us, Katie Trudeau.
Welcome to the VVK podcast.
It's a pleasure to have youwith us today.
Katy Trudeau (01:22):
It's a pleasure to be here.
Craig Fahle (01:28):
Well, as I said in the introduction, Eastern Market
is so much more than mostpeople potentially realize.
Most of them know of this placebecause they come here and buy
fresh fruits and vegetables onthe weekends or they come to
special events.
But what you do for thecommunity goes so far beyond
just being a place where peoplecan buy and sell things.
Talk a bit about Eastern Marketand the role that you play in
the community.
Katy Trudeau (01:50):
Yeah, I think it's not even known by everyone that
we're an independent nonprofitorganization that operates the
market on behalf of the city ofDetroit, who owns all of the
underlying property that themarket is contained within, and
we've been around since 2006.
And since 2006, we've done alot for the neighborhood and the
(02:13):
market.
We've invested millions ofdollars in the sheds.
We have the ability tofundraise from private
philanthropy to fundraise fromprivate philanthropy and we are
lucky to receive public funds aswell to support that work.
And we've also in that timeexpanded a lot into programming
(02:35):
small business entrepreneurshipprogramming, food access
programming and we transact over$200,000 annually at the
Saturday market in SNAP benefits.
Craig Fahle (02:48):
Yeah, and we'll talk about the programs in just
a little bit because they areincreasingly important these
days.
But I do want to ask sort of afun question when we begin,
because you mentioned thatyou've been here.
Well, at least EMP has beenhere since 2006,.
But the market's been around alot longer than that.
Do you remember the first visitor a memorable visit you had at
Eastern Market?
Katy Trudeau (03:07):
My history with the market is a little unique in
that I was doing an internshipin graduate school for the
founding president of theEastern Market Corporation, kate
Beebe, and I'm a trained urbanplanner.
I was very interested in themarket itself as that it could
offer for the city of Detroit.
Craig Fahle (03:54):
Well, you do have an interesting background and,
just for full disclosure, I meanyou were at the city of Detroit
at the same time that I was atthe land bank, so we did have
some interactions back then.
Detroit at the same time that Iwas at the land bank, so we did
have some interactions backthen.
But talk a bit about what itwas about.
This role that sort of led youaway from sort of government
work and more into this, whichisn't necessarily philanthropic
work, but it is definitelynonprofit.
(04:15):
But there's still so manydifferent aspects of your past
career that flow into this.
Katy Trudeau (04:20):
Yeah, so I do also have a before government.
I worked in the nonprofitsector in the city of Boston for
many years and have always beeninterested in the nonprofit
sector neighborhood on its own,unique to the downtown
neighborhoods, unique to aresidential neighborhood, for
(04:49):
instance.
We do have some residential inthe district, but it's a very
unique commercial district thatyou don't see elsewhere in the
city of Detroit and actually inmany cases elsewhere in the
United States.
Craig Fahle (05:02):
Well, let's talk about that for just a second,
because Eastern Market isdifferent and I mentioned at the
beginning that you know you doa lot more than your typical
markets but people may befamiliar with, like Pike's Place
Market in Seattle and someother famous outdoor vending
spaces, but what makes EasternMarket different than those?
Katy Trudeau (05:19):
We are a market district.
We have a operating commercialfood district here in the
Eastern Market neighborhood, inaddition to the public markets
that everyone knows and loves,that occur every Saturday under
the sheds, produce houses,farmers that have established
(05:47):
brick and mortar businesses herein the neighborhood around the
public market facilities, andthose growth patterns have
retained themselves till today,where you still see those same
meatpacking companies, thosesame produce houses, the farmers
coming every Saturday to theSaturday market or to sell it
wholesale.
Those same patterns haveremained.
(06:07):
They've changed and evolvedover time, but they've remained
in the neighborhood for over 120years, which is unique.
Craig Fahle (06:15):
Well, that's interesting.
I mean that part of it makes alot of sense, obviously, when
you have all the surroundingbusinesses.
But why does the market itselfmatter?
In a city like Detroit, mostpeople would think I need stuff,
I just go to Walmart or I go toKroger, I buy stuff there.
Why does this still play animportant role, do you think?
Katy Trudeau (06:33):
I would say it's important in Detroit on multiple
levels.
One, the community aspect of it.
There's really nothing like iton a Saturday at the Eastern
Market when it comes to thevendor mix, the music that you
hear playing throughout thesheds and just people seeing
each other.
You'll observe customers who goto the same vendor every week
(06:57):
and they have formed arelationship over decades and
there's something healing aboutthat.
And there's something healingabout that.
There's something reallyimportant for people to
(07:30):
experience that are madeliterally in Eastern Market, in
the kitchen in Shed 5, and theability to actually access local
Michigan-grown produce.
Craig Fahle (07:40):
Well, okay, let's flip that then.
So we mentioned why it'simportant for the customers and
the city's residents here havingaccess to all of this, but why
is it important for producers,growers?
What sort of access do they getto customers that they wouldn't
otherwise have?
Katy Trudeau (08:06):
markets season in the months of June, july, august
, september, we can see anywherefrom 30,000 to 40,000 visitors
on a single Saturday.
That type of customer base fora coffee business or a small or
medium-scale farm on one day canbe life-changing.
That type of foot traffic inone day rivals that of foot
(08:26):
traffic in a neighborhoodcommercial district seven days a
week.
So as a small business owneryou can come to the Saturday
market and you're reaching acustomer base.
That means that you're comingdown that one day as opposed to
having to have a brick andmortar business open 7 am to 4
(08:47):
pm every single day of the week.
Craig Fahle (08:48):
Well, I think one of the things that people may
not know as well about EasternMarket is the role that you play
in helping some of these smallbusinesses develop, turn their
idea into a business incubatorof sorts for food-related
businesses.
At what point did you recognizethat that was something that
needed to happen, and why isthat an important component of
your operations now?
Katy Trudeau (09:10):
So there was a shift in the Saturday market
during the time of the EasternMarket Partnerships existence,
where the market went from beingmore geared towards just
produce and farmers to alsoallowing packaged goods, and
that addition of vendors openedup a whole, a lot of opportunity
(09:33):
for small businesses who aremaking those packaged goods.
And so with that change in themarket, we also felt it was very
important to give more folksthe opportunity to start and
grow that type of business.
And so in 2015, we opened acommercial kitchen in Shed 5.
(09:53):
That kitchen is rented out onan hourly basis to food business
entrepreneurs.
There's a low barrier to entryin starting a business when you
can rent on an hourly basis, asopposed to having the pressure
of finding your own kitchen,bearing the weight of the rent
of that kitchen yourself.
And then we also have foodbusiness acceleration
(10:16):
programming, where we're rentingto businesses dedicated
commercial kitchens that we rentto them as a nonprofit at a
reduced rate.
Craig Fahle (10:26):
Well, and that plays obviously a big role in
establishing Detroit andSoutheast Michigan as sort of a
food business corridor, and so alot of what you've been doing
in terms of renovations to someof the properties that you have
for the sheds and things likethat has gone towards sort of
making these spaces available.
I just want to talk about this.
Just a couple of days ago wehad a groundbreaking for the
(10:49):
Shed 7 project, which takes thisto another level really and
frankly branches out your foodbusiness support in sort of a
new direction in terms of thelevel of support you're able to
provide and even the scaling ofsome of those businesses.
So talk a bit about Shed 7,what it's intended to be and why
this was a necessary change forthe market.
Katy Trudeau (11:10):
Shed 7 was necessary on multiple levels.
One we have seen a reduction inthe opportunities for farmers
Michigan's midsize farmers andlocal urban farmers in selling
their products at wholesale andlocal urban farmers in selling
their products at wholesale.
(11:30):
So the Shed 7 project isfundamentally a wholesale
distribution center thatprovides wholesale opportunities
to several of our tenants whoare midsize and local farmers.
The other thing that that helpsto do is to support Southeast
Michigan's very diverse grocerystore community, where in
Southeast Michigan we're veryfortunate to have a lot of
(11:53):
family-owned grocery stores thathave not yet gone the way of
chains.
Sort of midsize, high qualityproduce being offered at that
Shed 7 facility will create anopportunity for those grocery
stores to continue to sourcethat local produce that they
value on their shelves.
I would also say that Shed 7 isvery exciting to me in that it
(12:18):
provides dedicated space forDetroit-based urban farmers who
may not be operating at a scaleyet where they themselves can
wholesale, but if they'resharing a space with each other,
they're able to create aninventory that can meet the
demand of a wholesale market.
There's also dedicatedrefrigeration space for all the
(12:40):
farmers using that facility.
That is very, very importantand needed for farms to be able
to scale.
Craig Fahle (12:47):
Well, and these are not… inexpensive upgrades that
you're making here, especiallylike the thought of refrigerated
space.
I've been to some largerrefrigerated facilities and it's
amazing to me how they're ableto maintain temperatures in such
large spaces.
Talk about the support you'vereceived for this project, where
it's coming from, and, you know, was it easy to sell people on
(13:11):
the idea that this was somethingyou needed to do.
Katy Trudeau (13:19):
So one of the things that I think is really
important about the work we'vebeen doing recently is that, as
Detroit grows and investmentcomes back to the city, there
has been an interest ininvestment in Eastern Market
that might change the fabric ofthe neighborhood.
I mentioned earlier that thisis a commercial food district
that's been operating this wayin one form or another for over
120 years.
Us making a project like Shed 7a priority is one of our ways
(13:45):
to put a stake in the groundthat this is something that we
need to retain for Detroit andSoutheast Michigan and the state
of Michigan this really vibrantcommercial food district, and
so it's sort of within thatcontext that we prioritize this
wholesale distribution center asa key project for us and went
(14:08):
out to fundraise.
We were very fortunate toreceive a $12 million grant from
the state of Michigan, with thesupport of Senator Roger
Victory from the west side ofthe state, whose family also
happens to be beet farmers.
So Eastern Market is a placethat's near and dear to their
hearts, and that grant has beenadministered through the
(14:29):
Michigan Department ofAgriculture.
So that's really the that hugegrant has helped us to acquire
the property, is helping us tomake a bulk of the construction
upgrades to the property overhere on Russell Street.
We are also very fortunate toreceive funding from the Gilbert
Family Foundation.
It's their investment that'shelping to leverage what I
(14:51):
described earlier as that sharedspace for Detroit's urban
farmers, and we're alsoutilizing New Markets tax
credits that we are fortunate tohave through partnerships with
Invest Detroit and MichiganCommunity Capital.
So I think that is all to saythat a project like this is not
simple.
It takes a lot of differentfunding sources and a lot of
(15:13):
partnership, but we're reallyexcited about it.
It was wonderful to breakground on it earlier this month
and I think it's going to bereally transformative for the
neighborhood.
Craig Fahle (15:28):
Well, obviously, maintenance of the sheds that
you have.
I mean, a lot of upgrades havebeen made over the years,
especially since 2006,.
Some significant upgrades, butthere's still more work to do.
I know there are plans thatwere going to be announced later
for additional properties here.
Shed 4, I think, is somethingthat you guys have been pretty
open about and have been raisingmoney for.
I do want to talk a bit about,again, raising money.
(15:50):
You have had the authenticEastern market campaign that's
been going on since, I believe,2024, mid 2024, about.
August.
So it's we're about a year innow at this point in time.
How has that been received?
How's that going, and are yousurprised at the level of public
support that is out there forthis market?
Katy Trudeau (16:09):
I'm not surprised at the level of public support
that's out there for the market.
I'm very pleased to see that inlaunching the campaign last
year, more support has come outof the woodwork.
I think people who don't lovethis place are people who don't
know about it.
So the campaign has helped usto get the word out about the
(16:35):
place and I think it's justgained us more supporters
throughout the region.
The campaign has been goingreally well.
We have a $15.5 million goal.
We're almost three-quarters ofthe way fundraised on that and
it's been.
It's really the campaign, isit's dollars, but it's also a
vision for the neighborhood,reflected in what I just said
(16:56):
about Shed 7, reflected in whatI've said about Urban Farmers
and the history of thisorganization.
The establishment of thenonprofit organization has meant
that we have a level offlexibility to invest over $25
million to date in these shedfacilities, and the campaign is
also focused on ensuring thatthe organization is sustained
(17:19):
into the future.
Like I said, it's given usresources to do this work, but
it's also created a lot ofexcitement and momentum for the
organization and everything thatwe're doing and how important
not only Eastern Market is toour regional food economy, but
how important a food economy isto the state of Michigan and the
(17:40):
city of Detroit.
Craig Fahle (17:41):
Well, I think a lot of this, though, and the
concerns of the community aboutwhat's been happening in terms
of redevelopment around the cityis reflected in the name of the
campaign itself AuthenticEastern Market.
That is important to people,that this part of it you know
what it's been known for ispreserved in some capacity, and,
as we know, detroiters are very, very protective of sort of
(18:03):
legacy institutions that theyvalue.
So are you trying to reassurepeople that Eastern Market
remains Eastern Market, sort oflike keep Austin, weird sort of
thing.
Katy Trudeau (18:16):
Yeah, definitely.
We certainly don't want to turndown opportunities for
investment in the neighborhoodwhere there's resources coming
in that can support the workwe're doing, where there's
interest coming in to developnew food businesses, to start a
restaurant in the neighborhood.
We've seen a lot of that typeof activity over the last
(18:39):
several years.
We want to make sure that thereis a good environment for that
type of investment to happen.
But at the same time we do wantto assure Detroit residents
that Eastern Market is here tostay, that it's going to remain
authentic.
It'll be the food district thatpeople know and love.
The markets will happen everySaturday year round, and in the
(19:01):
summers on Tuesdays and Sundays.
There's something that there'scomfort in folks knowing that
this place will be here for themto do their shopping, to be
part of a community, and thecampaign at its core is stating
that that this is going to be aplace that remains authentic to
(19:22):
the city of Detroit.
Craig Fahle (19:23):
My guest right now is Katie Trudeau, of course,
president and CEO here atEastern Market on the VVK
podcast.
I've got a few more questionsfor you about that.
We'll talk about real estate injust a little bit, because I
think that's one of the thingsthat people get concerned about,
so we'll get to that in just abit.
But you mentioned that it'simportant for people to know
that this place is going to behere.
Eastern Market has really rampedup its role in the food
(19:46):
security system here inSoutheast Michigan over the last
15 years or so, doing thingslike the Double Up Food Bucks
program, where people on SNAPbenefits can get basically
double their money with thosebenefits when they shop at
Eastern Market.
There's a lot of uncertaintyout there right now about what's
going to happen to food supportsystems in the wake of a lot of
(20:06):
things happening both statewideand, of course, nationally,
which has gotten a lot ofattention.
How does an organization likeyours prepare for that?
Can you prepare for it, andhave you started thinking about
what impact this is going tohave?
Katy Trudeau (20:21):
Well, there's still a lot of uncertainty about
how we at Eastern Market willbe impacted by changes,
especially at the federal level.
We are preparing ourselves.
One thing about this place isit has helped folks weather
various challenges over theyears.
(20:42):
This Eastern Market wascritically important to
Detroiters during the pandemic,during the pandemic, and so what
we're looking at is how we havewe're very fortunate to have an
infrastructure here through thepublic markets, through our
relationships with farmers,through our relationships with
small business owners and foodmakers, to provide an
(21:06):
opportunity for residents andcustomers.
And what we can do is doubledown on that infrastructure.
Where we're able to, like Isaid there is, will be able to
create a system or a supportsystem that will continue to
benefit residents no matter whatchanges occur.
Craig Fahle (21:42):
Well, I appreciate that.
I mean it is a hugely importantissue right now.
I promise we'll get to some funstuff in just a little bit, but
I do want to talk about realestate and real estate
development.
I mean, there is also theEastern Market Development
Corporation, which is a part ofyour organization.
You mentioned authentic Easternmarket and some of the
pressures that may come, andthere are people that would like
(22:04):
to invest in the neighborhoodand they may be well-intentioned
, right, they have the rightthings, but there are potential
impacts of increased residentialdevelopment if you get the
wrong mix of businesses.
This isn't necessarily theright place for an M&M store,
even if it is a food-basedbusiness.
Technically, Talk a little bitabout how you sort of determine
(22:27):
which projects you want to getbehind and either you know
actually support or just supportin theory.
Katy Trudeau (22:35):
So we have the benefit of having completed a
planning study with the city ofDetroit that was published in
2019.
And that planning study createdseveral goals for us, both
Eastern Market, as well as thecity and the Trade Economic
Growth Corporation to sort ofrally around.
That plan also resulted in amajor rezoning of over 2,000
(22:58):
parcels across the neighborhood.
That has helped to facilitate atype of development that helps
us to keep this place authentic.
It's not necessarily.
It doesn't prohibit residentialdevelopment.
It encourages it around theDequindre Cut.
It allows for some type ofresidential smaller scale
residential in and around theneighborhood.
(23:19):
But recognizing that livingnext to uses like meat packing
and processing and publicmarkets that start as early as 6
am is not always the mostbeneficial for residents, the
plan and our goals continue tobe to encourage a type of real
estate development that is morefood-based, more food
(23:43):
processing-based.
The other thing about that typeof use is that it also
generates jobs, and well-payingjobs for Detroiters.
Craig Fahle (23:53):
Yeah, I mean it seems like though I don't want
to suggest that there's a ton ofpressure but there is always
interest, the proximity todowntown and everything that's
happening there.
People are looking for whateveris going to be the next hot
area, and Eastern Market sawsome flickers of that I don't
want to say flickers a littlebit more than that, really
(24:13):
starting about a decade ago, butthat has cooled a little bit.
Covid definitely put sort of adamp blanket on top of things.
Was that actually a good thing?
Potentially?
Katy Trudeau (24:20):
I'm always saying COVID is good, but in terms of
calming everybody down, Well, Iwould say that, folks, some of
the heat of real estate in theneighborhood has cooled a little
.
The challenge we're faced rightnow is with still really high
property costs.
I think there might be moredevelopment happening in the
(24:41):
neighborhood if prices were alittle lower.
So we're really just sort ofwaiting that out and doing what
we can to build projects likeShed 7, where we're doing what
we can to unlock some of theproperties that are in the
neighborhood and standing eithervacant or underutilized.
(25:02):
What I would say is that therestill is a lot of interest in
developing in the neighborhood.
In other cities where there hadbeen market districts, like
Eastern Market, like Chicago andWashington DC and even New York
City, the type of urbandevelopment pattern that you see
(25:26):
here warehouse buildings,ability to walk to your local
farmer's market you have seen achanging in the neighborhood and
there still is an interest inthat.
And that's where we getinvolved to try to say we don't
want these small andmedium-sized food businesses to
be priced out of the district,we don't want the market uses to
(25:46):
be displaced.
So where we, like I saidearlier, we can encourage
investment and guide investmentin a way that really benefits
everyone but also encourage atype of development that keeps
this place as a foodneighborhood fundamentally.
Craig Fahle (26:05):
Yeah, a challenge for sure.
Katy Trudeau (26:06):
Yes, certainly.
Craig Fahle (26:07):
Well, katie Trudeau , I do want to talk a little bit
about some upcoming events andsome things that you have going
on, because you know we'vetalked a lot about the Saturday
market, but there are so manymore things that happen here.
You've got some upcoming thingsgoing on.
Obviously, tourists have beenflocking to this area just to
see public art and murals in themarket and things like that.
But talk about some of theother programs that you have
(26:28):
coming up and events that peoplewant to come to if they've only
been here for the Saturdaymarket or if they've just never
been here.
Katy Trudeau (26:35):
Yeah, we have.
You mentioned murals in themarket.
We just announced that we'll bebringing a mural festival back
to the neighborhood after a fewyears, a few year pause.
That will happen the week ofSeptember 15th through the 20th
and that will coincide withEastern Market After Dark, which
is a Thursday evening eventthat we do in partnership with
(26:58):
Design Corps Detroit.
There'll be live mural paintinghappening during Eastern Market
After Dark.
That's an event that starts at6 pm and runs well into the
evening hours.
There's programming thathappens in the shed, there's a
night market, there's artisans,there's music and then there's
also a lot of activity thathappens throughout the district.
(27:18):
The district businesses open upat night.
Some of them program theirspaces with music and art and
it's a really, really amazingnight for Detroit and for the
neighborhood.
Yeah, I would also just add thatEastern Market.
You know we talk a lot aboutthe Saturday market and, as I
mentioned earlier, in the monthsof June through September we
(27:39):
have Tuesday and Sunday markets,but this is a seven day a week
neighborhood.
We've got a really vibrant barscene.
We've got several breweries.
One that just opened FullMeasure Brewery opened a couple
of weeks ago.
We have a really greatcommercial district over on
Gratiot Avenue with coffee shopslike La Ventana and Trina Soaps
(28:02):
, and there's some newer barsover there, and then we've got
an emerging restaurant scene.
We've got the flagship Cipino'srestaurant here that's been
here for many years and, yeah,it's really Burt's.
It's a really uniqueneighborhood that really is here
(28:27):
seven days a week.
Craig Fahle (28:28):
All right.
Well, Katie Trudeau, weappreciate your time.
We're looking forward to whatis next at Eastern Market.
We always enjoy our time hereand our time with you.
Thanks so much.
Katy Trudeau (28:37):
Thank you.
Craig Fahle (28:38):
All right, katie Trudeau, president and CEO of
Eastern Market, joining us hereon the VBK Podcast, and that's
going to do it for the VBKPodcast today.
As always, we appreciate thatyou have found us and hope you
learned a little something alongthe way.
If you have suggestions onthings you would like us to
discuss or people we should betalking to, please don't
hesitate to reach out.
You can find us via email.
(28:59):
Our address is hello atvvkagencycom, and you can also
find VBK PR and Creative onLinkedIn, instagram and Facebook
.
Just send a message with yourfeedback and suggestions.
Thanks again for listening tothe VBK Podcast.
I'm Craig Fahle and I lookforward to talking with you
again soon.
Thank you, thank you.
Greetings everyone.
Welcome to the VVK Podcast.
I'm your host, Craig Fahle.
On this program, we explore thepeople, ideas and innovations
shaping our community, and todaywe're talking about one of
Detroit's most beloved andenduring institutions.
Eastern Market.
It's more than just a place toshop for fresh produce.
It's a vibrant hub for food,entrepreneurs, cultural exchange
(00:40):
and community connection.
Our guest today will be KatieTrudeau, CEO of the Eastern
Market Partnership.
Under her leadership, themarket continues to grow as a
cornerstone of Detroit's foodeconomy, while also playing a
key role in shaping the futuredevelopment of the surrounding
neighborhood.
We'll discuss the market's richhistory, its evolving role in
the city and what's next forthis iconic destination.
(01:01):
That's coming up on the VVKpodcast.
Stay with us, Katie Trudeau.
Welcome to the VVK podcast.
It's a pleasure to have youwith us today.
Katy Trudeau (01:22):
It's a pleasure to be here.
Craig Fahle (01:28):
Well, as I said in the introduction, Eastern Market
is so much more than mostpeople potentially realize.
Most of them know of this placebecause they come here and buy
fresh fruits and vegetables onthe weekends or they come to
special events.
But what you do for thecommunity goes so far beyond
just being a place where peoplecan buy and sell things.
Talk a bit about Eastern Marketand the role that you play in
the community.
Katy Trudeau (01:50):
Yeah, I think it's not even known by everyone that
we're an independent nonprofitorganization that operates the
market on behalf of the city ofDetroit, who owns all of the
underlying property that themarket is contained within, and
we've been around since 2006.
And since 2006, we've done alot for the neighborhood and the
(02:13):
market.
We've invested millions ofdollars in the sheds.
We have the ability tofundraise from private
philanthropy to fundraise fromprivate philanthropy and we are
lucky to receive public funds aswell to support that work.
And we've also in that timeexpanded a lot into programming
(02:35):
small business entrepreneurshipprogramming, food access
programming and we transact over$200,000 annually at the
Saturday market in SNAP benefits.
Craig Fahle (02:48):
Yeah, and we'll talk about the programs in just
a little bit because they areincreasingly important these
days.
But I do want to ask sort of afun question when we begin,
because you mentioned thatyou've been here.
Well, at least EMP has beenhere since 2006,.
But the market's been around alot longer than that.
Do you remember the first visitor a memorable visit you had at
Eastern Market?
Katy Trudeau (03:07):
My history with the market is a little unique in
that I was doing an internshipin graduate school for the
founding president of theEastern Market Corporation, kate
Beebe, and I'm a trained urbanplanner.
I was very interested in themarket itself as that it could
offer for the city of Detroit.
Craig Fahle (03:54):
Well, you do have an interesting background and,
just for full disclosure, I meanyou were at the city of Detroit
at the same time that I was atthe land bank, so we did have
some interactions back then.
Detroit at the same time that Iwas at the land bank, so we did
have some interactions backthen.
But talk a bit about what itwas about.
This role that sort of led youaway from sort of government
work and more into this, whichisn't necessarily philanthropic
work, but it is definitelynonprofit.
(04:15):
But there's still so manydifferent aspects of your past
career that flow into this.
Katy Trudeau (04:20):
Yeah, so I do also have a before government.
I worked in the nonprofitsector in the city of Boston for
many years and have always beeninterested in the nonprofit
sector neighborhood on its own,unique to the downtown
neighborhoods, unique to aresidential neighborhood, for
(04:49):
instance.
We do have some residential inthe district, but it's a very
unique commercial district thatyou don't see elsewhere in the
city of Detroit and actually inmany cases elsewhere in the
United States.
Craig Fahle (05:02):
Well, let's talk about that for just a second,
because Eastern Market isdifferent and I mentioned at the
beginning that you know you doa lot more than your typical
markets but people may befamiliar with, like Pike's Place
Market in Seattle and someother famous outdoor vending
spaces, but what makes EasternMarket different than those?
Katy Trudeau (05:19):
We are a market district.
We have a operating commercialfood district here in the
Eastern Market neighborhood, inaddition to the public markets
that everyone knows and loves,that occur every Saturday under
the sheds, produce houses,farmers that have established
(05:47):
brick and mortar businesses herein the neighborhood around the
public market facilities, andthose growth patterns have
retained themselves till today,where you still see those same
meatpacking companies, thosesame produce houses, the farmers
coming every Saturday to theSaturday market or to sell it
wholesale.
Those same patterns haveremained.
(06:07):
They've changed and evolvedover time, but they've remained
in the neighborhood for over 120years, which is unique.
Craig Fahle (06:15):
Well, that's interesting.
I mean that part of it makes alot of sense, obviously, when
you have all the surroundingbusinesses.
But why does the market itselfmatter?
In a city like Detroit, mostpeople would think I need stuff,
I just go to Walmart or I go toKroger, I buy stuff there.
Why does this still play animportant role, do you think?
Katy Trudeau (06:33):
I would say it's important in Detroit on multiple
levels.
One, the community aspect of it.
There's really nothing like iton a Saturday at the Eastern
Market when it comes to thevendor mix, the music that you
hear playing throughout thesheds and just people seeing
each other.
You'll observe customers who goto the same vendor every week
(06:57):
and they have formed arelationship over decades and
there's something healing aboutthat.
And there's something healingabout that.
There's something reallyimportant for people to
(07:30):
experience that are madeliterally in Eastern Market, in
the kitchen in Shed 5, and theability to actually access local
Michigan-grown produce.
Craig Fahle (07:40):
Well, okay, let's flip that then.
So we mentioned why it'simportant for the customers and
the city's residents here havingaccess to all of this, but why
is it important for producers,growers?
What sort of access do they getto customers that they wouldn't
otherwise have?
Katy Trudeau (08:06):
markets season in the months of June, july, august
, september, we can see anywherefrom 30,000 to 40,000 visitors
on a single Saturday.
That type of customer base fora coffee business or a small or
medium-scale farm on one day canbe life-changing.
That type of foot traffic inone day rivals that of foot
(08:26):
traffic in a neighborhoodcommercial district seven days a
week.
So as a small business owneryou can come to the Saturday
market and you're reaching acustomer base.
That means that you're comingdown that one day as opposed to
having to have a brick andmortar business open 7 am to 4
(08:47):
pm every single day of the week.
Craig Fahle (08:48):
Well, I think one of the things that people may
not know as well about EasternMarket is the role that you play
in helping some of these smallbusinesses develop, turn their
idea into a business incubatorof sorts for food-related
businesses.
At what point did you recognizethat that was something that
needed to happen, and why isthat an important component of
your operations now?
Katy Trudeau (09:10):
So there was a shift in the Saturday market
during the time of the EasternMarket Partnerships existence,
where the market went from beingmore geared towards just
produce and farmers to alsoallowing packaged goods, and
that addition of vendors openedup a whole, a lot of opportunity
(09:33):
for small businesses who aremaking those packaged goods.
And so with that change in themarket, we also felt it was very
important to give more folksthe opportunity to start and
grow that type of business.
And so in 2015, we opened acommercial kitchen in Shed 5.
(09:53):
That kitchen is rented out onan hourly basis to food business
entrepreneurs.
There's a low barrier to entryin starting a business when you
can rent on an hourly basis, asopposed to having the pressure
of finding your own kitchen,bearing the weight of the rent
of that kitchen yourself.
And then we also have foodbusiness acceleration
(10:16):
programming, where we're rentingto businesses dedicated
commercial kitchens that we rentto them as a nonprofit at a
reduced rate.
Craig Fahle (10:26):
Well, and that plays obviously a big role in
establishing Detroit andSoutheast Michigan as sort of a
food business corridor, and so alot of what you've been doing
in terms of renovations to someof the properties that you have
for the sheds and things likethat has gone towards sort of
making these spaces available.
I just want to talk about this.
Just a couple of days ago wehad a groundbreaking for the
(10:49):
Shed 7 project, which takes thisto another level really and
frankly branches out your foodbusiness support in sort of a
new direction in terms of thelevel of support you're able to
provide and even the scaling ofsome of those businesses.
So talk a bit about Shed 7,what it's intended to be and why
this was a necessary change forthe market.
Katy Trudeau (11:10):
Shed 7 was necessary on multiple levels.
One we have seen a reduction inthe opportunities for farmers
Michigan's midsize farmers andlocal urban farmers in selling
their products at wholesale andlocal urban farmers in selling
their products at wholesale.
(11:30):
So the Shed 7 project isfundamentally a wholesale
distribution center thatprovides wholesale opportunities
to several of our tenants whoare midsize and local farmers.
The other thing that that helpsto do is to support Southeast
Michigan's very diverse grocerystore community, where in
Southeast Michigan we're veryfortunate to have a lot of
(11:53):
family-owned grocery stores thathave not yet gone the way of
chains.
Sort of midsize, high qualityproduce being offered at that
Shed 7 facility will create anopportunity for those grocery
stores to continue to sourcethat local produce that they
value on their shelves.
I would also say that Shed 7 isvery exciting to me in that it
(12:18):
provides dedicated space forDetroit-based urban farmers who
may not be operating at a scaleyet where they themselves can
wholesale, but if they'resharing a space with each other,
they're able to create aninventory that can meet the
demand of a wholesale market.
There's also dedicatedrefrigeration space for all the
(12:40):
farmers using that facility.
That is very, very importantand needed for farms to be able
to scale.
Craig Fahle (12:47):
Well, and these are not… inexpensive upgrades that
you're making here, especiallylike the thought of refrigerated
space.
I've been to some largerrefrigerated facilities and it's
amazing to me how they're ableto maintain temperatures in such
large spaces.
Talk about the support you'vereceived for this project, where
it's coming from, and, you know, was it easy to sell people on
(13:11):
the idea that this was somethingyou needed to do.
Katy Trudeau (13:19):
So one of the things that I think is really
important about the work we'vebeen doing recently is that, as
Detroit grows and investmentcomes back to the city, there
has been an interest ininvestment in Eastern Market
that might change the fabric ofthe neighborhood.
I mentioned earlier that thisis a commercial food district
that's been operating this wayin one form or another for over
120 years.
Us making a project like Shed 7a priority is one of our ways
(13:45):
to put a stake in the groundthat this is something that we
need to retain for Detroit andSoutheast Michigan and the state
of Michigan this really vibrantcommercial food district, and
so it's sort of within thatcontext that we prioritize this
wholesale distribution center asa key project for us and went
(14:08):
out to fundraise.
We were very fortunate toreceive a $12 million grant from
the state of Michigan, with thesupport of Senator Roger
Victory from the west side ofthe state, whose family also
happens to be beet farmers.
So Eastern Market is a placethat's near and dear to their
hearts, and that grant has beenadministered through the
(14:29):
Michigan Department ofAgriculture.
So that's really the that hugegrant has helped us to acquire
the property, is helping us tomake a bulk of the construction
upgrades to the property overhere on Russell Street.
We are also very fortunate toreceive funding from the Gilbert
Family Foundation.
It's their investment that'shelping to leverage what I
(14:51):
described earlier as that sharedspace for Detroit's urban
farmers, and we're alsoutilizing New Markets tax
credits that we are fortunate tohave through partnerships with
Invest Detroit and MichiganCommunity Capital.
So I think that is all to saythat a project like this is not
simple.
It takes a lot of differentfunding sources and a lot of
(15:13):
partnership, but we're reallyexcited about it.
It was wonderful to breakground on it earlier this month
and I think it's going to bereally transformative for the
neighborhood.
Craig Fahle (15:28):
Well, obviously, maintenance of the sheds that
you have.
I mean, a lot of upgrades havebeen made over the years,
especially since 2006,.
Some significant upgrades, butthere's still more work to do.
I know there are plans thatwere going to be announced later
for additional properties here.
Shed 4, I think, is somethingthat you guys have been pretty
open about and have been raisingmoney for.
I do want to talk a bit about,again, raising money.
(15:50):
You have had the authenticEastern market campaign that's
been going on since, I believe,2024, mid 2024, about.
August.
So it's we're about a year innow at this point in time.
How has that been received?
How's that going, and are yousurprised at the level of public
support that is out there forthis market?
Katy Trudeau (16:09):
I'm not surprised at the level of public support
that's out there for the market.
I'm very pleased to see that inlaunching the campaign last
year, more support has come outof the woodwork.
I think people who don't lovethis place are people who don't
know about it.
So the campaign has helped usto get the word out about the
(16:35):
place and I think it's justgained us more supporters
throughout the region.
The campaign has been goingreally well.
We have a $15.5 million goal.
We're almost three-quarters ofthe way fundraised on that and
it's been.
It's really the campaign, isit's dollars, but it's also a
vision for the neighborhood,reflected in what I just said
(16:56):
about Shed 7, reflected in whatI've said about Urban Farmers
and the history of thisorganization.
The establishment of thenonprofit organization has meant
that we have a level offlexibility to invest over $25
million to date in these shedfacilities, and the campaign is
also focused on ensuring thatthe organization is sustained
(17:19):
into the future.
Like I said, it's given usresources to do this work, but
it's also created a lot ofexcitement and momentum for the
organization and everything thatwe're doing and how important
not only Eastern Market is toour regional food economy, but
how important a food economy isto the state of Michigan and the
(17:40):
city of Detroit.
Craig Fahle (17:41):
Well, I think a lot of this, though, and the
concerns of the community aboutwhat's been happening in terms
of redevelopment around the cityis reflected in the name of the
campaign itself AuthenticEastern Market.
That is important to people,that this part of it you know
what it's been known for ispreserved in some capacity, and,
as we know, detroiters are very, very protective of sort of
(18:03):
legacy institutions that theyvalue.
So are you trying to reassurepeople that Eastern Market
remains Eastern Market, sort oflike keep Austin, weird sort of
thing.
Katy Trudeau (18:16):
Yeah, definitely.
We certainly don't want to turndown opportunities for
investment in the neighborhoodwhere there's resources coming
in that can support the workwe're doing, where there's
interest coming in to developnew food businesses, to start a
restaurant in the neighborhood.
We've seen a lot of that typeof activity over the last
(18:39):
several years.
We want to make sure that thereis a good environment for that
type of investment to happen.
But at the same time we do wantto assure Detroit residents
that Eastern Market is here tostay, that it's going to remain
authentic.
It'll be the food district thatpeople know and love.
The markets will happen everySaturday year round, and in the
(19:01):
summers on Tuesdays and Sundays.
There's something that there'scomfort in folks knowing that
this place will be here for themto do their shopping, to be
part of a community, and thecampaign at its core is stating
that that this is going to be aplace that remains authentic to
(19:22):
the city of Detroit.
Craig Fahle (19:23):
My guest right now is Katie Trudeau, of course,
president and CEO here atEastern Market on the VVK
podcast.
I've got a few more questionsfor you about that.
We'll talk about real estate injust a little bit, because I
think that's one of the thingsthat people get concerned about,
so we'll get to that in just abit.
But you mentioned that it'simportant for people to know
that this place is going to behere.
Eastern Market has really rampedup its role in the food
(19:46):
security system here inSoutheast Michigan over the last
15 years or so, doing thingslike the Double Up Food Bucks
program, where people on SNAPbenefits can get basically
double their money with thosebenefits when they shop at
Eastern Market.
There's a lot of uncertaintyout there right now about what's
going to happen to food supportsystems in the wake of a lot of
(20:06):
things happening both statewideand, of course, nationally,
which has gotten a lot ofattention.
How does an organization likeyours prepare for that?
Can you prepare for it, andhave you started thinking about
what impact this is going tohave?
Katy Trudeau (20:21):
Well, there's still a lot of uncertainty about
how we at Eastern Market willbe impacted by changes,
especially at the federal level.
We are preparing ourselves.
One thing about this place isit has helped folks weather
various challenges over theyears.
(20:42):
This Eastern Market wascritically important to
Detroiters during the pandemic,during the pandemic, and so what
we're looking at is how we havewe're very fortunate to have an
infrastructure here through thepublic markets, through our
relationships with farmers,through our relationships with
small business owners and foodmakers, to provide an
(21:06):
opportunity for residents andcustomers.
And what we can do is doubledown on that infrastructure.
Where we're able to, like Isaid there is, will be able to
create a system or a supportsystem that will continue to
benefit residents no matter whatchanges occur.
Craig Fahle (21:42):
Well, I appreciate that.
I mean it is a hugely importantissue right now.
I promise we'll get to some funstuff in just a little bit, but
I do want to talk about realestate and real estate
development.
I mean, there is also theEastern Market Development
Corporation, which is a part ofyour organization.
You mentioned authentic Easternmarket and some of the
pressures that may come, andthere are people that would like
(22:04):
to invest in the neighborhoodand they may be well-intentioned
, right, they have the rightthings, but there are potential
impacts of increased residentialdevelopment if you get the
wrong mix of businesses.
This isn't necessarily theright place for an M&M store,
even if it is a food-basedbusiness.
Technically, Talk a little bitabout how you sort of determine
(22:27):
which projects you want to getbehind and either you know
actually support or just supportin theory.
Katy Trudeau (22:35):
So we have the benefit of having completed a
planning study with the city ofDetroit that was published in
2019.
And that planning study createdseveral goals for us, both
Eastern Market, as well as thecity and the Trade Economic
Growth Corporation to sort ofrally around.
That plan also resulted in amajor rezoning of over 2,000
(22:58):
parcels across the neighborhood.
That has helped to facilitate atype of development that helps
us to keep this place authentic.
It's not necessarily.
It doesn't prohibit residentialdevelopment.
It encourages it around theDequindre Cut.
It allows for some type ofresidential smaller scale
residential in and around theneighborhood.
(23:19):
But recognizing that livingnext to uses like meat packing
and processing and publicmarkets that start as early as 6
am is not always the mostbeneficial for residents, the
plan and our goals continue tobe to encourage a type of real
estate development that is morefood-based, more food
(23:43):
processing-based.
The other thing about that typeof use is that it also
generates jobs, and well-payingjobs for Detroiters.
Craig Fahle (23:53):
Yeah, I mean it seems like though I don't want
to suggest that there's a ton ofpressure but there is always
interest, the proximity todowntown and everything that's
happening there.
People are looking for whateveris going to be the next hot
area, and Eastern Market sawsome flickers of that I don't
want to say flickers a littlebit more than that, really
(24:13):
starting about a decade ago, butthat has cooled a little bit.
Covid definitely put sort of adamp blanket on top of things.
Was that actually a good thing?
Potentially?
Katy Trudeau (24:20):
I'm always saying COVID is good, but in terms of
calming everybody down, Well, Iwould say that, folks, some of
the heat of real estate in theneighborhood has cooled a little
.
The challenge we're faced rightnow is with still really high
property costs.
I think there might be moredevelopment happening in the
(24:41):
neighborhood if prices were alittle lower.
So we're really just sort ofwaiting that out and doing what
we can to build projects likeShed 7, where we're doing what
we can to unlock some of theproperties that are in the
neighborhood and standing eithervacant or underutilized.
(25:02):
What I would say is that therestill is a lot of interest in
developing in the neighborhood.
In other cities where there hadbeen market districts, like
Eastern Market, like Chicago andWashington DC and even New York
City, the type of urbandevelopment pattern that you see
(25:26):
here warehouse buildings,ability to walk to your local
farmer's market you have seen achanging in the neighborhood and
there still is an interest inthat.
And that's where we getinvolved to try to say we don't
want these small andmedium-sized food businesses to
be priced out of the district,we don't want the market uses to
(25:46):
be displaced.
So where we, like I saidearlier, we can encourage
investment and guide investmentin a way that really benefits
everyone but also encourage atype of development that keeps
this place as a foodneighborhood fundamentally.
Craig Fahle (26:05):
Yeah, a challenge for sure.
Katy Trudeau (26:06):
Yes, certainly.
Craig Fahle (26:07):
Well, katie Trudeau , I do want to talk a little bit
about some upcoming events andsome things that you have going
on, because you know we'vetalked a lot about the Saturday
market, but there are so manymore things that happen here.
You've got some upcoming thingsgoing on.
Obviously, tourists have beenflocking to this area just to
see public art and murals in themarket and things like that.
But talk about some of theother programs that you have
(26:28):
coming up and events that peoplewant to come to if they've only
been here for the Saturdaymarket or if they've just never
been here.
Katy Trudeau (26:35):
Yeah, we have.
You mentioned murals in themarket.
We just announced that we'll bebringing a mural festival back
to the neighborhood after a fewyears, a few year pause.
That will happen the week ofSeptember 15th through the 20th
and that will coincide withEastern Market After Dark, which
is a Thursday evening eventthat we do in partnership with
(26:58):
Design Corps Detroit.
There'll be live mural paintinghappening during Eastern Market
After Dark.
That's an event that starts at6 pm and runs well into the
evening hours.
There's programming thathappens in the shed, there's a
night market, there's artisans,there's music and then there's
also a lot of activity thathappens throughout the district.
(27:18):
The district businesses open upat night.
Some of them program theirspaces with music and art and
it's a really, really amazingnight for Detroit and for the
neighborhood.
Yeah, I would also just add thatEastern Market.
You know we talk a lot aboutthe Saturday market and, as I
mentioned earlier, in the monthsof June through September we
(27:39):
have Tuesday and Sunday markets,but this is a seven day a week
neighborhood.
We've got a really vibrant barscene.
We've got several breweries.
One that just opened FullMeasure Brewery opened a couple
of weeks ago.
We have a really greatcommercial district over on
Gratiot Avenue with coffee shopslike La Ventana and Trina Soaps
(28:02):
, and there's some newer barsover there, and then we've got
an emerging restaurant scene.
We've got the flagship Cipino'srestaurant here that's been
here for many years and, yeah,it's really Burt's.
It's a really uniqueneighborhood that really is here
(28:27):
seven days a week.
Craig Fahle (28:28):
All right.
Well, Katie Trudeau, weappreciate your time.
We're looking forward to whatis next at Eastern Market.
We always enjoy our time hereand our time with you.
Thanks so much.
Katy Trudeau (28:37):
Thank you.
Craig Fahle (28:38):
All right, katie Trudeau, president and CEO of
Eastern Market, joining us hereon the VBK Podcast, and that's
going to do it for the VBKPodcast today.
As always, we appreciate thatyou have found us and hope you
learned a little something alongthe way.
If you have suggestions onthings you would like us to
discuss or people we should betalking to, please don't
hesitate to reach out.
You can find us via email.
(28:59):
Our address is hello atvvkagencycom, and you can also
find VBK PR and Creative onLinkedIn, instagram and Facebook
.
Just send a message with yourfeedback and suggestions.
Thanks again for listening tothe VBK Podcast.
I'm Craig Fahle and I lookforward to talking with you
again soon.
Thank you, thank you.
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