Rabbit Creek Market has expanded its retail space, growing from 15,000 to 18,000 sq. ft.
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Market owner Renee Miller said the expansion came after years of maintaining a wait list of vendors wanting space in the market.
When the business next door moved out, Miller moved in, adding 15 new vendor spots.
“There are so many different local businesses that cannot maybe on their own go out and afford a brick-and-mortar retail store on Capital Circle Northeast and have the advertising and have the payroll and have the insurance and all of the things that goes into having a brick-and-mortar store, but they have a great product or a great business, and they want to be able to have their footprint somewhere,” Miller said. “This allows that to happen.”
The results came quickly.
Most of the new vendors made their booth rent and turned a profit since opening Friday, and the day marked one of the highest sales days at the market in four and a half years.
For vendors like Jaime Hernandez of Southern Daughters Company, the expansion is the realization of a long-held goal.
Hernandez started at Rabbit Creek Market with just a few shelves and has since tripled her footprint, recently opening her third booth in the newly expanded space.
"We're just so excited to be a part of this expansion at Rabbit Creek. For some time, we've always had the dream of expanding,” she said. “So with that, we're hoping for increased foot traffic, which we have seen in the past few days.”
Hernandez said she hopes the growth continues to bring in new faces.
"Out of that, we're hoping to gain additional customers and turn those into loyal customers," Hernandez said.
Miller said she intends to expand again in the future as more space becomes available at the complex, with plans to welcome even more vendors.
“Small business is the lifeblood of every economy. If we don't support each other, then we will be out of existence, and everything will just be by some big conglomerate, so if we want to have local businesses, they need to be supported,” Miller said.
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