Wheaton's French market opens in temporary location

Wheaton's wildly popular open-air French market, which has temporarily relocated to Reber Street to accommodate a massive streetscape project, opened for the season Saturday.

Vendors offering a variety of items, including fresh-cut flowers, produce, bread and jewelry, lined both sides of Reber Street and Liberty Drive as a steady stream of customers visited their tables.

"We had such a great response this morning considering it's a rainy day." said Sandi Andre of Sandi's Fresh Cut Flowers, West Chicago, who serves as the on-site supervisor for the French market. "Look at all these happy people."

Andre, who has been a vendor at the French market for around 24 years, said there is a great variety of items available, wide aisles and plenty of convenient parking at the new location.

Open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Saturday through Nov. 27, the market has many of last year's COVID-19 precautions in place to protect the health of vendors and shoppers. The first hour is reserved for the unvaccinated at-risk population, including seniors and those with underlying health conditions.

Precautions include social distancing requirements and directional pathways. In addition, all attendees and participants must wear face masks.