Blog 10: Interview with Robert Thomas

Interviewing Robert Thomas

Last Thursday, Calvin and I interviewed Robert Thomas, the head of the Lexington Market, for an hour.  He was charming and very talkative.  We covered a fair amount of ground although I wished we had a little more time.  I found him thoughtful and responsive to questions.  He has a pretty clear vision of what he wants the market to be like, although he is realistic about the challenges, particularly in the environment outside the market.    

Toward the end of the interview, I asked what his vision for the new market is and he responded:

     It’s not even so much what the market looks like but how it functions. And how it functions is as a market that’s welcoming to people all up and down the socio-economic scale who are moving in and out seamlessly. We’re offering things that people want from a quick sandwich, to the regular comfort food, to things a little more exotic.  We’re offering spices and things, and ingredients.  I’m learning the terminology now, so there’s staple food and there’s ingredients. and then there’s prepared food.  Prepared food should be interesting.  We have pop-ups that come in.  It’s an entrepreneurial place where people can get a start. because a lot of places that are out in brick and mortar now started in the public markets. We want to able to continue that tradition, so people come through and they test out their theories.  Some will last, some won’t, and some go on to graduate to go offsite and do their own thing. We should have more of that happening. We have maker spaces, producing spaces. . . We need more maker spaces here. We need more people who work with the food, so that they can create stuff and they can fix things that are off menu. . .  They can adopt and change . . .  somebody who’s receptive to shifting their menu a little bit or modifying it to food trends that are happening. 

     It’s also a place where the stroller brigade can be happy.  That’s what I call the moms with, young moms normally with strollers:  Come in, you’re welcome,  get what you need, get a kids’ meal, get your meal, get something nutritious for your child. And over in our grocery section, a place that has school kids coming through to see some of the stuff that’s actually being produced on-site or made on site or created on site. But also, maybe in another part of the property see things that are growing on site. so that they give the right answer when somebody says “where does food come from” and they don’t say Food Lion or Giant or Save a Lot which actually does happen.  But we want to make sure that, that we have enough of a link to the offsite producers, the farmers and creators and planters and seeders and stuff.  That we can have our own ag center here in Baltimore City and it doesn’t have to be a field trip out to Hunt Valley.  No shade on Hunt Valley, but you know if we are doing stuff here and this is a big enough market and we have all this real estate, why not.

            At the end, Calvin asked a great question:  What would you say to people who are open to change, but cautious about what the impact would be.  Thomas’ answer was a good summary of his point of view:

I agree with them.  I’d be cautious too. But, I’d also say that we want to make sure that the market offers what people need, first, and then offers what people want after that.  So, we’re not trying to subtract, we’re actually trying to add and add more of what people are looking for and what serves the community well.