Brookfield officials are in support of a French market that could come to the Eight Corners area for six Fridays this summer.
The proposition is expected to advance to a vote by trustees on Jan. 26 after they voiced approval — and some concerns — at their Jan. 12 committee of the whole meeting.
Libby Popovic, Brookfield’s community development director, said the pilot program for the market would run along Broadway Avenue from 4 to 7 p.m. on June 12 and 19, July 10, 17 and 24, and Aug. 7 with a focus on “foods, artisan goods, flowers and other specialty items.”
Broadway would be closed from Washington Avenue to Lincoln Avenue for several hours before and after the event, allowing pedestrians to patronize vendors and local businesses, including the Brookfield Shops at nearby Progress Park. Popovic said the market would likely run up to the fire station at the corner of Broadway and Lincoln but would not block the egress of firetrucks.
She said the goal would be to have more than 40 vendors, who would each pay a $50 fee for a 10-foot-by-10-foot space, and around six food trucks, who would pay a $100 fee.
Some of the vendors would include three runners-up from the application process for the 2026 Brookfield Shops cohort, Popovic said. Other vendors could include some who already attend the farmers market, though she said having a variety of new vendors to town would also be a goal.
Popovic said the village would partner with Gina Sharenow, the manager of the farmers market, through the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce as a consultant to oversee vendor applications as well as day-of logistics and operations.
According to staff estimates, Brookfield would bring in about $1,160 in profit per French market.
The village would pay out about $2,200 per event, including $1,000 in consultant fees and nearly $1,200 in staffing costs for crossing guards and public works employees who would set up and take down the market.
But, if Brookfield reaches its vendor goals, it will bring in about $3,350 per market, with $2,000 coming from vendor fees and $600 from food truck fees. Charging an additional $50 to vendors to rent tents would generate about $1,500, Popovic said, half of which would go to the village, with the other half going to Sharenow and her employees.
Popovic and Police Chief Michael Kuruvilla said Brookfield would likely need to pay more than normal for crossing guards in order to outsource the job, as the village’s existing guards are comprised largely of retirees who may not want to work Friday evenings during their summer off-season.
Popovic said the pilot program had overwhelming support from business owners in the area, who told staff they were excited to see the area activated on Friday evenings to encourage business.
In response to trustees’ concerns — about whether the Chamber should run the event entirely or if the market would detract from other village initiatives — Popovic said the proposed partnership with Sharenow would allow village staff the most flexibility while ensuring Brookfield can oversee and control the event.
Ultimately, trustees expressed their support for the program.
“Overall, I’m actually very happy to see this here, questions aside of whether we’re competing with the farmers market,” Hendricks said. “The idea of a farmers market is that you bring it to your business district, and it activates [it]. It brings people there so that they see [the businesses]. When we have it in the village parking lot, we don’t necessarily get that effect on our business community.”
