How to get more customers for a Saint John or Fredericton restaurant using the city markets

In Saint John and Fredericton, the markets are not just places to shop. They are where the food community meets. A restaurant that treats a market as a source of ingredients, a place to meet guests and a way to tell its story can build a loyal local following without a large marketing budget.

What are the two markets?

The Saint John City Market is a heritage building in the heart of the city. The Fredericton Boyce Farmers Market is the other anchor for local food in the region. Both draw regular shoppers and visitors, and both are places where producers and cooks talk to each other.

How can a restaurant use a market for sourcing?

Walk the market with your head cook once a month. Talk to the farmers, the fishers and the bakers. Ask what is coming into season in the next two weeks. A relationship with a small producer can give you a better product, a story for the menu and a supplier who will call when something special arrives. Agree on quantity, price and delivery in advance, and pay on time.

How can you meet new guests there?

You do not need a stall. A few options:

1. Sample at a market event. Many markets host special days where local restaurants offer tastings.
2. Partner with a vendor. A dish using a stallholder's product, promoted by both of you.
3. Leave a card. A small card with your hours and a dish to try, handed out with permission.
4. Run a market-day special. A Saturday lunch for market shoppers.
5. Hold a producers' dinner. Invite vendors and their regular customers to a set menu built around their products.

How do you stand out from market food?

Market stalls sell food that is quick, cheap and portable. You offer something different: a table, a full menu, drinks, service and a room to linger. Do not copy the stalls. Make your menu clear about what you do that they cannot, such as a long lunch, a set dinner or a private room.

How do you serve visitors in Saint John?

Saint John sits on the Bay of Fundy, with some of the highest tides in the world, and visitors come to see the Reversing Falls and the waterfront. They need somewhere to eat close to the sights, and a clear sign at street level helps. Offer a short seafood menu and quick service at lunch. Put your hours and your menu on a board outside.

How do you serve students and workers in Fredericton?

Fredericton is the provincial capital and a university city. Government workers fill lunch hours, and students come back in September. A weekday lunch menu with a fast turnaround, a student offer on a quiet night and a clear page with your hours go a long way. Keep your Saturday morning in mind: market shoppers often want a late breakfast or an early lunch.

What about the quiet months?

Winter markets are quieter, but they still run. Use them. A winter soup stall or a tasting of seasonal baking keeps your name in front of locals. Plan a January menu that uses preserved and stored produce, such as root vegetables, squash and preserved fruit.

How do you track what works?

Ask new guests how they found you. Note the answers on a simple tally sheet for two months. If market contacts bring in the most, spend more time there. If your page brings in more, spend more time on that.

How do you build a long-term relationship with a market vendor?

Buy from them every week, not only when you have a special on. Pay on time. Tell them when a dish sells well, and share a photo. Offer a vendor a meal after a long Saturday. When a vendor is celebrating, such as an anniversary or a new product, mention it on your page. The relationship is the real advantage: vendors who like working with you will save the best tomatoes, the first fiddleheads or the freshest fish for you, and their regular customers will hear your name at the stall.

Do you want the people you meet at the market to remember your dish?

A conversation at a stall turns into a booking if people can find you later. Mosey is a food discovery app where diners rate the dishes they ate and search by dish and mood, which helps a good kitchen be found by name. Nobody can pay to outrank you there, because Mosey Gold is earned from ratings alone.

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