Milwaukee’s Winter Farmers Market at the Mitchell Park Domes Annex has been a hugely successful weekly event integral to farmers, small businesses and shoppers. An average of 1,800 visitors flocked to the greenhouse space on Saturday mornings from November to April. About 50 vendors each week sold fresh produce and locally made cheese, chocolate, honey, salsa, jams and many other products. But, despite its popularity, organizers were abruptly informed last month that the market’s lease would not be renewed at the Domes Annex.

Officials in the Milwaukee County Parks Department, which manages the Domes facilities, said they intend instead to rent the Annex for more private and special events. They now partner with Waukesha-based Zilli Hospitality Group for catered events at the Domes. County officials did not cite a related pending settlement with Grandview Management, Inc.—Zilli’s parent company—that will give the caterer exclusive rights to use the Annex for up to 20 years.

On Thursday, Feb. 1, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors approved—without discussion and with only board chairman Theo Lipscomb dissenting—a resolution allowing county lawyers to settle Grandview’s lawsuit (with the annex deal as a pot sweetener). Zilli lost business when O’Donnell Park facilities, including a parking garage, were closed following a fatal accident there in 2010. Zilli had a catering agreement for O’Donnell’s pavilion until the county ceded that building last year to the Milwaukee Art Museum.

One clause in Zilli’s pending contract for multiple park facilities is: “Except for standard default provisions, [there is] no right in the County to terminate prior to end of Term, including during any extensions.” Additionally: “The County will not have right to refuse to extend” the 10-year contract for two five-year extensions. Thus, the contract allows Zilli to opt out, but not the county, without facing steep penalties.

It’s unclear whether Zilli demanded that the market be booted out of the Annex altogether, or if county officials preemptively pulled the plug. Parks leadership remains in flux since former director John Dargle abruptly resigned in November, and the county board rejected Jim Sullivan’s appointment as director. Teig Whaley-Smith, the county’s director of administrative services, did not respond to queries about who made the decision.

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The terms sheet for Zilli’s pending lease does provide for the county’s rental of the Annex for non-catered events, including “approximately 22 winter markets.” The market paid the county $600 per event in 2017-’18, totaling $13,800 for 23 events. A new 126-page guide to renting county facilities lists the fee for the Annex (Greenhouse) as $800 for a four-hour daytime rental. A Saturday evening (six hours) costs $3,500 and less for other evenings. Other Domes’ spaces are rented separately.

James Tarantino, appointed recently by County Executive Chris Abele as chief of business services for the parks, said the Domes hosted 16 catered events in 2017. Abele has said he wants to fully fund park operations with fees, rentals and other income by 2023. This is placing intense pressure to use county parks to garner revenue instead of producing and providing desired cultural and recreational programs, such as the Mitchell Park Domes’ popular “Music Under Glass,” which got cancelled two years ago.

A Sunlit Urban Gathering Place

Katie Hassemer, Fondy Food Center’s director of farmers markets, said that customers and vendors are unhappy about losing the annex space, “but I have to focus on the future.” She is seeking new space for the market, which began nine years ago at State Fair Park.

Some people expressed shock that county officials did not consult anyone from the community or seek alternatives. Johnathan Dye, who launched Mr. Dye’s Pies six years ago and sells at numerous markets, thinks it will be tough to find a location better than the Annex. It has “a central and accessible location, ample parking and a great light-filled space.” Ranking winter markets in the region, Dye said, “This one is a 12—and there are no 10s.” He thinks that officials do not understand how thriving farmers markets help stimulate economic resurgence in cities and sustain small businesses—nearly 100 total who sell at the winter market. He asked, “In Milwaukee, what else is working as well as this market? Customers come from all over, including Illinois, and they have a positive experience here.” Dye remains hopeful that county officials will rethink what he called a “short-sighted decision.” He notes that coveted “market momentum has been achieved at this location, something that should be built upon, not abandoned.”

On the market’s final day, Milwaukee resident Rebecca Segal was “very sad about losing this sunlit place in the middle of winter—the biggest draw.” She visited the market weekly for coffee, people-watching and shopping. An MPS teacher and a fellow with Milwaukee’s New Leaders Council, she expressed concern about “stealing away a community asset from a city that is segregated on so many levels. We need this as a public gathering place… for making connections,” she said. Many people have expressed hope that the winter market will find a new home.

For updates on the status of the Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market, visit fondymarket.org/winter-market.