Behind The Stand: Meet The Vendors Of Fredericton’s Northside Creators Market
FREDERICTON– The Northside Creators Market is home to more than 40 local vendors, all with different backgrounds and passions for their products.
Like many local markets, this one acts as a spot for people in the community to come to test their ideas within a business incubator setting.
RELATED: How Fredericton’s Northside Creators Market Acts Like A Mini Business Incubator
From harvested microgreens and beauty products made from natural honey to traditional food from El Salvador, the Northside Creators Market serves up interesting local products on Saturdays and Sundays. Here are a few of the vendors that make the market special.
DC Greens
DC Greens is run by Daniel Cormier and his family, who started the business in the spring of 2020.
Cormier said the main reason he and his family got into growing microgreens was a lifelong friend who was diagnosed with brain cancer. As they were going through several brain surgeries, Cormier and his family started looking for different ways to help.
With research, Cormier discovered a professor doing a study on how nutrient-dense microgreens can be.
“The more nutrient-dense food you consumer, it was easier to pass the blood-brain barrier, and then get that nutrient more densely to people and it helps with cancer,” said Cormier. “That was the pinnacle. That was the piece that’s still a fire that keeps us going today.”
Cormier said microgreens are essentially baby vegetables. Before the vegetable seed goes through photosynthesis, it becomes a spout.
“Once you pass that and you allow the plants to do photosynthesis, and they only have their true leaves, which are their very first two-pronged leaves, that’s when it’s considered a microgreen,” said Cormier. “Studies have shown that at that stage, on average, you’re looking at about 40 percent more nutrients.”
Cormier currently sells 14 different varieties of microgreens, ranging from alfalfa, sunflower, pea shoot, wasabi, and radish microgreens.
“The really cool thing with microgreens is they taste like the adult version. So, if you were to have one sprig of radish microgreens, that’s going to taste the exact same as if you took a bite out of a radish,” said Cormier.
All microgreens are grown in their house in a 10 x 14-foot bedroom that was converted into a green room.
Recently, Cormier and his family have been making their way into growing different varieties of mushrooms. Common mushrooms in North America are portobello, button, and cremini mushrooms, but Cormier said there are many others that have health benefits.
DC Greens has sold microgreens at the Northside Creators Market since its early days when it started in the Picaroons Roundhouse.
The more Cormier read about microgreens, the more he understood the health benefits they come with. In a lot of cases, microgreens are used as a garnish for meals in restaurants.
“But when you get down to the math of it, yeah, it looks pretty. It’s gorgeous. It tastes great, but the health benefits are insane and that is what I wanted to share with people,” said Cormier.
Claudia’s Pupusas
Cesar Morales operated his Northside Creators Market stand with his wife, Claudia. They sell homemade pupusas, which is a traditional food from El Salvador.
Pupusas are made with corn flour and have traditional fillings of cheese, beans, and pork. Morales and his wife combined the three traditional fillings into one and called it the “Three Amigos.” They have also expanded their fillings with spicy maple chicken and spinach and cheese.
Morales and his wife moved to Fredericton 31 years ago from El Salvador and wanted to keep making their traditional food.
“When we started making the flavours, we started experimenting with it until we got it right,” said Morales.
They cooked their pupusas for their friends and everyone would tell them how good they were and that they should sell them.
“The rest is history. We decided, okay, this is our time to do it and so far it’s been a great experience. It’s a lot of work though, but it’s very rewarding to see our clients happy,” said Morales.
The Northside Creators Market was the first location they sold their pupusas, starting in March 2021. Morales said the logical next step would be to open a restaurant. His customers are also telling him he should expand.
“There might be a possibility. We’re still thinking about it because I know it’s a huge commitment,” said Morales. “I’m pretty sure if we have a restaurant, we’ll be working 24/7.”
As for the near future, Morales and his wife are focusing on creating new flavours.
MacPherson’s Natural Bee Apiary
Matt MacPherson and his wife became beekeepers about five or six years ago. They started with one hive and now own 16.
“One of our goals, of course, is to make sure that we can manage the hives well, that we have treatments available for them, that they’re healthy all the time,” said MacPherson.
They sell honey, maple syrup, lotions, lip balms, beard care, pet care, and hair care, and are starting to expand into candles. The products are made with their natural honey, along with other local ingredients.
The idea started with the intention of owning a few beehives but MacPherson and his family got excited about it and decided to get more.
“Especially with the bee population the way it is, we thought if there’s a way that we can help local farmers by having these socially then we want to do that and if there’s ways that we can grow sustainably, then we would,” said MacPherson.
His family decided that selling products would be the solution to offsetting the costs of the beehives. As they have been creating more products and selling them at markets, MacPherson said they have had steady growth.
Their natural products were first sold at a local market located in the Tracy Rec-Centre. The MacPhersons agreed to bring 12 lotions with them at the time, and since then, MacPherson said the business and demand have snowballed.
Now, their products are sold at Warm & Coasty in Saint Andrews, Tweedside Road, Basic Moms, and Jean Coutu has carried their items throughout the years.
The Northside Creators Market is the only consistent market the MacPhersons are currently attending but they have participated in some Christmas markets over the last few weeks.
MacPherson’s Natural Bee Apiary was also part of the original Northside Creators Market that was located in the Picaroons Roundhouse.
Editor’s Note: This story was last updated on Dec. 5, at 10:38 a.m.
Jessica Saulnier is an intern with Huddle. Send her feedback or tips: [email protected].