“I think the variety that we have here is what people like the most,” says Aloski. “You know, a lot of markets don’t have your meats, your deli, your bakeries, clothing and all of that kind of stuff. So it’s easier for people to come to somewhere like here because we have all that stuff and they have a lot of choice.”
What’s a huge attraction for the market as well, she says, is that it’s simply a lot cheaper than going to big brand shops.
The market boasts over 120 stalls to choose from. Impressively, a large portion of these stalls are some of the originals that opened 45 years ago, that continue to be owned and operated by the same families.
Casting back to Preston nearly 50 years ago, pictures of a vibrant, diverse community don’t necessarily spring to mind. There was nothing like the market to bring these sorts of feelings to the community, Aloski says. But with its establishment, she contends that the north was given an opportunity to engage in culture like they never had before, and the market has since served to bring an enormous amount of opportunity to people in the community – both for those in the business as stall holders, and those doing their weekly shop.
“I think it was started because back in those days there wasn’t anything like this in this area, so they wanted to establish a market here to give people something easy for them to come to and get their deli products and their meats and things.”
Her job as co-receptionist and operations manager sees her tend to the day-to-day running of the market. She attends to all customer enquiries and liaises with current and prospective stallholders. She jokes that she feels like the face of the market.
“What I get out of it is making people happy, and that makes me happy,” she says. “You know, I love being social with people and seeing what kind of things they like and what they think should be better about the market.”
One aspect of the market that has recently been added is PAM Lane, which opened in July last year. PAM (an acronym for Preston Artist Market) is a new section of the market designed to offer local artists the opportunity to sell their homemade wares, and for market-goers to have even more variety in the products that are on offer. There are a slew of products never-before-seen at the Preston Market, which are now available at PAM Lane. You can grab everything from handcrafted jewelry, terrariums, flowers, paella, coffee, candles and more in this new, dedicated section of the market.
Tending to attract a younger crowd, Aloski says PAM Lane has been widely well received.
“I think a lot of people, especially the elderly, have been a bit reluctant to change. But we are getting a lot more new faces here just because of the difference in products that sell at PAM compared to the old tenants.”
This is an enormous positive for the establishment, who are keen on expressing the best that their local surrounds have to offer.
So what’s on the horizon for the Preston Market? Plenty, according to Aloski. Always wanting to grow the market with new things, she says that punters can look forward to a heap of new developments taking place in the future.
BY ABBEY LEW-KEE
