The St. Lawrence Market will soon give customers an extra day to shop and a later closing time on weekdays, in an effort to make the market more accessible.

Under a yearlong pilot project set to start March 15, the city-owned market’s main building will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, according to a statement released by the city Monday. The market will also stay open until 8 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday. It will remain closed on Mondays.

The pilot project’s revised hours “are an effort to make the market more accessible, with service hours that meet visitors' changing needs and preferences,” the statement said.

The revamped schedule is being welcomed by some merchants but hasn’t gone over well with others, who raised concerns about the pressures of being able to staff an extra day and extended hours, said Effie Tziamouranis, the owner of Paddington’s Pump and the secretary of the tenants’ association for the market.

The St. Lawrence Market will soon give customers an extra day to shop and a later closing time on weekdays, in an effort to make the market more accessible.

She said many of the businesses, which are predominantly family-owned, will now need staff for as many as eight more hours a week. Paddington's Pump already operates seven days per week because it operates outside of market hours and has its own entrance.

“Some people are really not happy about it,” said Tziamouranis, whose family-owned restaurant has operated at the market for 30 years.

“A lot of people feel it was archaic that we hadn’t been open on Sundays, while other people felt we had gone this far, why do it now?” said Tziamouranis. “It’s quite down the middle.”

The extra day of operation and later closing hours during the week were driven by feedback from market merchants, neighbourhood input, market trends and a survey of the general public, said market spokesperson Samantha Wiles. About 80 per cent of survey respondents said they were more likely to visit the market if it had extended hours, Wiles said.

“There wasn’t a formal vote, but there was consultation with each tenant,” she said. “The majority of the merchants were in favour of optimized hours, especially being open on Sunday.”

Data gleaned from other markets indicated that St. Lawrence Market was trailing some of its peers in Canada and North America, with a total of 53 hours of total weekly operation, compared to an average of up to 72 hours. The new schedule will add eight hours to the weekly schedule.

The yearlong experiment “will inform a decision on a more permanent operating schedule for 2021 and beyond,” the city statement said.

St. Lawrence Market hasn’t had a nonseasonal change in hours of operation in at least 30 years, Wiles said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how many residents and visitors embrace Sunday and evening shopping at St. Lawrence Market,” said Mayor John Tory. “The new hours of operation pilot project modernizes the market's operations and ensures that more people have the opportunity to experience this amazing, historic Toronto destination.”

Some holiday hours of operation will vary during the pilot project and 2020 holiday hours will be posted on the St. Lawrence Market website by the end of January. The Saturday Farmers Market will continue to operate year-round from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wiles said the market opted to open its doors two hours later on Saturdays — at 7 a.m. instead of the current 5 a.m. — because research shows that people are shopping later in the day, and early-morning traffic is low.

Last September, city officials told the Star that extended operating hours for the storied south building were under consideration after mounting interest from shoppers.

The city said there was an increasing appetite for “optimized hours” at the market, which is home to butchers, spice shops, restaurants and dozens of other vendors.

The market’s operating hours during the pilot project will be:

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Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday, closed

Jason Miller is a breaking news reporter based in Toronto. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic