Brooklyn Flea Launching Giant Food Market

When we were launching the Brooklyn Flea back in early 2008, we (Messrs. Demby and Butler) struggled with whether or not to have food at the market. Believe it or not, it was not an obvious decision at the time. Three years later, however, it’s clear that the presence of food, coinciding as it has with the explosion of the local artisanal food movement here in Brooklyn, has played a big role in the Flea’s success. As the food component of the Flea has continued to get more popular, we have been facing one of those rich-man’s problems: Too many exciting new food applicants, not enough food spots. Literally, every week we get a handful of applications from chefs at top-shelf restaurants just itching to spread their wings by developing and selling their own specialty items. (In the last week alone, we’ve sampled mozzarella from a Jean Georges refugee and mustard from a former Tom Colicchio staffer.) We’ve also got another of those good problems—what to do with the new Williamsburg location on Saturdays. This time, however, the answer is a no-brainer: Create the city’s largest outdoor food market! Called Smorgasburg (lest any of us start taking this foodie thing too seriously!), the market will feature more than 100 vendors (“packaged, cooked, raw, Mason Jar’d, and more,” as the Flea blog put it this morning). We’re also pleased to report that the Saturday market, which will kick off on May 21st at the Edge site, will be anchored by up to 20 GrowNYC Greenmarket vendors, including Brooklyn Grange, Consider Bardwell and Hudson Valley Duck Farm. For more details check out the Flea blog and to apply to be a vendor check out Smorgasburg.com. You can also follow the Smorgasburg Facebook page and Smorgasburg Twitter account to stay up on the play-by-play.