Madison Public Market project moves forward with announcement of five permanent vendors

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Madison Public Market, a project more than a decade in the making, is one step closer to becoming a reality.

The Madison Public Market Foundation and city leaders announced Thursday the first five permanent vendors that will operate in the space, including four restaurants and a body care business.

COVID-19 threw the market’s future into question, but in early September Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced the 2021 Capital Budget maintains the funding to make it happen.

“The renovation plans are complete, we have raised $3 million from our generous community, we have built the Public Market Foundation to run the market and the mayor has maintained her $7 million in funding,” said Madison Public Market Treasurer Victoria Davis.

The ‘MarketReady’ program allowed more than a dozen local businesses to submit plans for how they would operate within the market. The first five permanent vendors announced received a $19,000 grant to get things off the ground.

The five vendors include:

• Little Tibet- offering homemade Tibetan and Himalayan cuisine
• Perfect Imperfections- a natural body care line
• Caracas Empanadas y Mas- originally a popular Madison food truck
• Melly Mell’s- homemade soul food
• El Sabor de Puebla- authentic Mexican cuisine

Jasmine Banks, owner of Perfect Imperfections, said the program helped pair her with a mentor to grow her business.

“As a family that has been here in Madison for five generations, lives literally two blocks, and I live in the house I was born in raised in, this area and this spot really means a lot to me,” she said.

Eventually, there will be a total of 30 permanent vendors, more than 100 temporary ones, and two to four anchor stores. The city plans to break ground on the project next year and open by late 2022.

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