Photo: Gather Local Market

After fostering its growth for just over a year, the City of Saskatoon has decided that a new entity should operate the Gather Local Market, as well as the adjacent “Ideas Inc” building. 

 In early 2025, Ideas Inc handed the community hub over to the City after it determined businesses wasn’t booming enough to meet financial or service requirements outlined in the lease.  

Since then, the businesses inside the market building, at 414 Avenue B South, have been thriving in their current environment, according to Shad Ali, who manages marketing and communications for the market. 

“The tenants, in regard to Gather Local Market, their biggest concern is if a new operator takes ownership of that building and changes the concept dramatically. That would be disastrous.”

Now, the City is looking to find an operator that will enhance the current success of Gather and keep the ‘business incubator’ aspect in the Ideas Inc building, after its importance was highlighted by Braydon Goldstein before the planning, development, and community services committee last Wednesday.  

“The new RFP doesn’t require incubation services to be required by anyone proposing to come into and operate the space. I think that these are extremely important thing in this city and in this particular situation.” He adds that there have been a number of notable businesses that relied on the incubation services at Ideas Inc, such as 9 Mile Brewing and Biktrix.

City Hall’s director of planning and development, Lesley Anderson, says the City will put out a Request for Proposals in June.

“If we release a June RFP, have it open for three months at a minimum, then review the submissions, then into negations, we expect this to be more than 12 months until we have new operator in place.”

The committee unanimously supported the search for a new operator.