The Old Dublin Bakery has parted ways with the St. John’s Farmers' Market, where it was a top vendor.
Beginning two Saturdays before Christmas, Kevin Massey set up shop in his food truck on Anderson Avenue — directly opposite the Freshwater Road market. He plans to continue that new location, along with other destinations like Duckworth Street downtown on different days.
“It was the busiest I had in months, actually,” Massey said of the mobile move to Anderson Avenue.
It was a difficult decision for Massey to leave the market, but one he said he felt he had to take and he’s looking forward to building his mobile business with new additions such as coffee and Irish tea and eventual expanded fare like sandwiches.
Massey said he’s obtained his vendor licences from the city and spent about $40,000 refurbishing a truck he bought from a contractor who was downsizing.
It will allow him flexibility — opening before the farmers' market 9 a.m. start as he said an earlier time suits a bakery better.
He also won’t have to follow rigid rules on his menu — according to Massey when he tried to sell sandwiches last summer at the market, he was told he couldn’t and so, donated $500 worth of product to a kitchen for the needy.
Asked about the disapproval of Massey selling sandwiches, farmer’s market executive director Pam Anstey said in a written statement that when a vendor wants to add something new, the market has to weigh what they will be offering against what is already being sold by others, so there is not an overabundance of any one product.
She also noted that there must be Service NL compliance as well — when vendors initially sign on to the market, they must submit their product list to both the market board and Service NL and any changes are subject to another approval process from both.
Massey said he also approached the market about having his truck on the premises, but was told it was against policy. He said he’d even offered to put the market logo on his truck for free, if he’d been able to park the truck on the market premises week to week.
The policy was later altered after he had made his decision to leave, and the change in policy would have meant he would have to keep reapplying for a slot.
The prior farmers’ market policy, Anstey said, disallowed food trucks at Saturday markets because of space limitations and high demand.
But after Massey made his request, the board decided to accommodate one food truck per Saturday market from January until April, as there are less outside vendors during that season. The restriction is still in place for the rest of the year.
Massey is hopeful for his move to mobile.
“The way I see it now, the benefits of being across the street is their customer base they can still benefit from me. … I spent 3.5 years to get that customer base and I can’t give it up,” Massey said.
He said some vendors were shocked he was leaving, and many showed him support.
The last week before departing the market, he said he found business slow and while his concerns around fluctuating fees, and other issues weren’t addressed, he’s looking forward to the future.
“People love food trucks,” Massey said.
Anstey noted that there are still other fresh baked goods being offered at the market, from breads to cinnamon buns and bagels.
“Things are continuously evolving at the market as vendors outgrow us and move on to more independent ventures, it’s really part of the model that we strive for – to support vendors in establishing their customer base and refining their products until they have grown to the point where they expand beyond what we are able to offer,” Anstey said.
“As well, if Kevin ever wishes to return to the market as a vendor, we would be happy to chat with him about coming back.”
Another longtime vendor, Five Brother’s Cheeses moved out of the market a few months ago.
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