Union Street Market gives local businesses an opportunity to connect to the community

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - After years of construction and planning, new life is being breathed back into the former General Electric plant near downtown Fort Wayne.

The Union Street Market opens to the public Tuesday morning, and market vendors say they are ecstatic to share something special with the community.

“To see it from the ground up to now, how well put together it is, how beautiful it is and just the energy they’ve encapsulated through the history behind the building, it’s just really amazing and we’re so excited,” Cameron Brooks said.

Cameron Brooks is the owner of Brooks BBQ and Chicken, which is one of more than a dozen food vendors at the market.

Brooks says his business has seen many location changes in recent years, and he won’t let this opportunity go to waste.

“Right now, we currently operate off a food truck, before that we had opportunities to be outside of a gas station on Jefferson and we also had a store front for a short time,” Brooks said. “We’re expecting something totally different than anything we’ve ever seen before, but we’re ready, excited and prepared for sure.”

Ted Spitzer, Director of Planning and Development for Union Street Market, says what makes the project special is that all vendors are small, local business owners and it will be great to see people in the community support them.

“They are small operators, and this is a very big deal to them,” Spitzer said.

Brooks says the vendors have all worked together so far and there’s a strong bond and lots of support between them.

“Throughout this process, we’ve all, like all of the vendors, we’ve really gotten to know each other and we all support each other at a high level,” Brooks said.

You can find more information on Union Street Market, including parking and hours, at their website.