Des Plaines will try to strike deal for farmers market
Plans for a farmers market to return to downtown Des Plaines this summer are moving forward.
The city council unanimously agreed Monday to direct City Manager Mike Bartholomew to negotiate an agreement with Connie Groat and her daughter, Monika Montemayor, to become the operators of a weekly farmers market near the library starting June 19.
Groat and Montemayor were the only ones to respond to a city request for qualifications document last month expressing their interest in managing a Des Plaines market.
Groat's husband, Jack, who manages the Elk Grove Farmers Market, initially proposed that he run the Des Plaines market but backed out of discussions with 1st Ward Alderman Patti Haugeberg after he argued that a proposed operation agreement gave the city too much control.
Connie Groat and Montemayor have proposed splitting half the net profits of farmers market vendor fees with the city. A formal negotiated agreement would come back to the city council for final approval.
Haugeberg, who has been pushing for a return of a farmers market after a seven-year hiatus, previously told the Daily Herald that Connie Groat and Montemayor together run more events than Jack Groat, including seven years running the annual holiday arts and crafts show at Elk Grove High School.
They've also helped Jack Groat run the Elk Grove market, and attend annual farmers market conferences.
“Some people are very interested in having a farmers market in the downtown,” Haugeberg said. “This is our chance to start providing it.”
The market is proposed to take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays from June 19 through Oct. 16. It would be held on Ellinwood Street between Lee and Pearson streets.