Two of the Capital City's more popular gathering places re-opened on Saturday (3/5/26). One was the Downtown Marketplace. The other was the Frenchtown Market, which is now in a new location.
From its original home at the corner of Georgia Street and Old Bainbridge Road, the market now occupies a grassy, fenced yard on the corner of Georgia and MLK Boulevard. Market Director Michelle Gomez called it a big improvement.
“Could it be any better?” she laughed. “I love the new location! It’s beautiful, it feels good, it’s safe for kids. So we can do a lot more things here than we could on the corner (of Old Bainbridge Road).”
Vendors seemed to like it better, too. Like regular seller Linda Tomlinson, better knows as the "Pepper Lady" for her tangy wares.
“There’s more exposure and we’re getting people from not only the Frenchtown area, but the surrounding areas, so this is very good for us this year. I think it’s going to be a good thing,” Tomlinson said.
Local luminaries like Mayor Andrew Gillum, City Commissioner Scott Maddox and State Representative Alan Williams helped kick off the Market's opening day.