With only a handful of days to go until Belfast's newest outdoor food and retail market welcomes customers into its space, the team behind Trademarket Belfast are busy putting the final touches in place.
Trademarket is a pop-up shipping container market opening on the Dublin Road at the former Movie House Cinema site. After three years in the making, founder Will Neill and his team are "absolutely buzzing" to finally see their vision come to life when they welcome customers for the first time on Friday, July 22.
Speaking to Belfast Live, General Manager Max McPherson explained the social enterprise will offer something unique to the city's current retail and hospitality offering with sustainability and community on the forefront.
Read more: The rise of al fresco: Outdoor dining is transforming Belfast's food scene
Max said: "Trademarket is a new exciting space on Dublin Road, previously where Dublin Road cinema was and the concept here is that we have handpicked some local food and retail vendors - 10 in total. We also have two bars and the idea is that we are collaborating the bar with the food vendors."
The containers used to form Trademarket have been rehomed from the site surrounding the former Bank Buildings after the Primark fire in 2018. A number of local small businesses are set to open their first city centre premises thanks to Trademarket - you can see the list of vendors here.
Max continued: "Coming out of Covid, there were a lot of food vendors that sprung up and we handpicked them - there are a lot of exciting things happening in Belfast and we wanted to give them the opportunity for them to have a platform to do it on. The whole concept is to keep the rates low and allow them the opportunity to give it a go without any major overheads."
The site, which is completely dog friendly, will open Wednesday to Sunday 12pm - 11pm. With two fully licensed bars
Norman Carlisle owns Barkley and Waggins, a dog boutique store operating for 18 months that, for the first time, is opening up into the high street thanks to Trademarket.
Norman said: "We are really really super excited. We hope Belfast is ready for Barkley and Waggins - we love Trademarket and the reason behind it with all the social enterprises helping the homeless as well.
"We have been on the journey since October last year with the guys from Trademarket so we are so excited and hope the customers love us too. We can wait for the puppies and dogs to come in and you can also have the food with your dogs and the other retailers as well."
Shonee McWilliams is Belfast's Pie Queen and is ready to take her home business to the city centre when the market opens on Friday. Creating both sweet and savoury pies and a range of vegan options, there will be something for everyone.
"In Belfast, there are a lot of places closing down at the minute so it can be quite scary for small businesses right now whereas this is a really supportive, safe place to be opening your first physical space," Shonee said. "It's something fresh and new which is exciting."
Founder Will Neill thanked digital technology company Kainos who is temporarily leasing its Bankmore Square site to the pop-up market.
He said: "They are a big local company who supported our idea and because of them, this all happened so it is a big thank you to them because if it was any other company who weren't from here, they would have let this site sit for years with nothing on it."
Max continued: "We are absolutely buzzing - we can't wait to open our doors. It's an exciting new concept, something different for Belfast and it's really like a little hospitality hub.
"Everyone collaborating together and bringing something new and dynamic to Belfast."
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