The St. Louis area is awash with markets all year round, and now there’s a new one to add to the list: STL Vegan Market, the city’s first 100 percent vegan night market, will begin its inaugural season in Midtown on April 8.
“STL Vegan Market was inspired when I was completing college in Phoenix, Arizona,” says STL Vegan Market founder and owner Melissa Crawford. “I became vegan during the summer of 2021, and upon returning to school that fall, I discovered a vegan market in downtown Phoenix. I’ve always been an avid market-goer, but this market opened a whole new world for me. I felt the empowerment of supporting local businesses, along with a spirit of compassionate fun that the market’s vegan twist cultivated.”
Crawford brought that excitement and inspiration right back to her hometown of St. Louis, where she thinks an all-vegan market concept is exactly what the area needs. “I’m excited to bring this concept to St. Louis because I see great opportunity to make vegan consumerism more accessible and exciting in St. Louis,” Crawford says. “And I believe [the city] needs this experience.”
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The vegan market will take place on the second Saturday of the month from April through August from 3 to 7 p.m. at 2 Acre Park — a Pocketparks project located at the corner of Vandeventer and Forest Park avenues.
“I was interested in holding the market near downtown St. Louis so that it could be more accessible to the greater public, [which is when] I came across Pocketparks, a nonprofit organization that reimagines unused plots of land.” she says, noting how inspired she was by their mission to provide urban communities with active and beautiful recreational areas. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to have the market at the 2 Acre Park … and to be a part of this impact.”
According to Crawford, attendees of STL Vegan Market can expect to see a variety of local businesses with compassionate visions, with a variety of vendors offering food, drinks, sustainable goods and more. Way 2 Fresh Eats, Kitchen Clayton, Living Millennially Coffee Bar and Yummy Sweetcakes are a few of the many food vendors who will be on site to provide market-goers with food and drinks as they shop. Beyond food, STL Vegan Market will also showcase hair and body products, apparel, art, eco-friendly lifestyle swaps, plants and more.
“Our mission is to connect the public with, and help support, as many local businesses as possible,” Crawford says. “However, there will be opportunities for businesses to participate in multiple markets throughout the season. We want to connect the public with the full vegan experience, which means each monthly event will offer something unique.”
While each monthly market will be a unique experience, Crawford says every market will feature seating areas for guests to relax, games, music (both live and via speaker), and more, with monthly wellness opportunities such as yoga classes. “St. Louis is a city that is constantly growing in opportunities, and I’m eager for the community to benefit from St. Louis diving into this space,” Crawford says. “I think this is such an exciting way to uplift and support the community.”
STL Vegan Market is a monthly night market which runs from April to August. For more information and updates, follow it on Instagram.
STL Vegan Market (at 2-Acre Park), 3901 Forest Park Ave., Midtown, St. Louis, Missouri, STL Vegan Market
