Thursday Market vendor’s fees to rise

Certain vendor’s fees at the Thursday Market is set to increase this October to generate more income for improvements for the weekly outdoor food and arts fair at the Garapan Fishing Base, according to Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Robert Hunter.

Hunter, in an interview Monday with Saipan Tribune, said he recognizes that there is a problem with the Thursday Market’s ability to sustain itself weekly and plans to address it by raising certain vendor’s fees in the Thursday Market.

“Right now we are collecting approximately just over a third in vendor’s fees that we need to cover the cost of each weekly event. So what we’re doing is we are looking into the cost, to bring those down, and are raising in some cases some of the vendor’s fees; food vendor’s for example, and retail vendor’s, and not raising the artist fees,” said Hunter.

According to Hunter, the purpose of the Thursday Market is to promote local products to tourists. In line with this, the DCCA secretary sees no need to raise artist vendor fees. “The whole point of the market when it was created was to bring local products, local artwork, local food, agriculture, originally to the tourist area, so that the connection is made between local products and our visitors. We don’t want to affect the participation of our artists.”

The vendor’s fee at Thursday Market as of now would cost the same no matter what the goods are. “Whether you’re an artist making handmade, one-of-a-kind work, or a commercial restaurant selling thousands of dollars of food every week, you pay $45,” said Hunter.

Hunter also wants to separate the vendor’s fee of vendors selling food and vendors selling goods that are mass produced. “We’re going to have a different system; food vendors are going to pay $80. We’re breaking out retail vendors, people who are selling goods that are made through mass production for retail sale, they’re going to pay $75, and then there are the artists, who would still pay $45.”

Food vendors reaction

The nearly 100-percent increase in food vendor’s fee at the Thursday Market didn’t sit well with Thursday Market staple Canton Restaurant.

Canton Restaurant director Rose Chan said she’s not too happy about the increase of the food vendor’s fee.

“Of course, nobody wants it,” Chan bluntly said when asked about the increase. “In the increasing of the vendor’s fee at the Thursday Market, we would have to reconsider the financials. I cannot make the decisions right now as it has yet to happen.”

Chan also thinks that the Thursday Market’s increase in food vendor’s fee would hurt the way Canton Restaurant and other food vendors do business.

“The price of the food is already really low, with $5 for five food choices, the businessmen are not really making good money. On Saipan, can you buy [at] McDonald’s with $5? No food costs $5 with that many choices,” she said.

Chan is pretty skeptical about the increase of food vendor’s fees, but if it’s for the improvement of the Thursday Market, she would be relieved.

“If it’s used for improvement, then we would be in favor, even though our prices would also be forced to get higher. I know some restaurants that sell for $6-$7 and they’ve already closed down.”

Thursday Market newcomer Shirley’s Coffee Shop, meanwhile, said they would be amenable to the almost two-fold increase in food vendor’s fee if it ultimately attracts more customers.

“Maybe they (DCCA) got operating expenses too that they would like to cover using the vendor’s fee,” said Macario. “We’re just hoping to see an increase of sales, too. Basically a good portion of our sales are coming from tourists. If we have an increase in tourists, maybe Shirley’s would not be affected by the increase,” said Puy Macario, assistant general manager of Shirley’s Coffee Shop.

Motivate artists

Hunter said he wants to motivate artists to sell their goods at the Thursday Market and are looking for more ways to help the artists with the possibility of lowering their vendor’s fee. “We want to encourage the artist. If we can come down to a point where we can actually lower artist vendor fees that’s what we’d do. We’re looking at other options like collective tents where artists can pay for just a portion, they can pay $20 and share it with other artists.”

Subsidized costs could be shouldered by DCCA, but Hunter is not too keen on using the DCCA budget to subsidize the Thursday Market’s lack of revenue all year long. “We need to bring the collection of revenue more in line with the cost of the event,” says Hunter.

Hunter aims to showcase the CNMI in the best way possible. “We want to make the best market we can for the visitors and of course the vendors,” said Hunter.