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Art and antique market plans to expand to three floors [Topeka Capital Journal (KS)](Topeka Capital Journal (KS) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The owners of Trails Market & Gallery have big plans for their antique building, including a coffee shop, a farmers market and outdoor events. Owners Jeff Hisey and Geri Cummings opened their business at 109 N. Kansas Ave. in September. Though the address is in the NOTO Arts District, Cummings said, the building is on the south side of the river, across the street from the Kansas Lottery building and west of the ramp onto the Kansas Avenue bridge. Vendors on the first floor space sell antiques, iron work, alpaca wool rugs and silk floral arrangements, and there is a fine arts gallery with spaces for demonstrations on First Friday, Cummings said. Laser Art Creations, which used to have a store at 729 S. Kansas Ave., was the first tenant to move in this fall. The plans for the space, however, go far beyond the current vendors. Both the second floor and the basement will be available to rent booth space once cleanup is complete, Cummings said, and other areas will be converted into studio space for artists to rent. This spring, they plan to use a part of the building with large garage doors as a combination indoor-outdoor farmers market. Local farmers who rent outdoor space will have to bring their own tables, Hisey said, but those who rent an indoor space can leave their equipment from week to week. They also have the option of subleasing their spaces to bakers or other people with nonseasonal products to sell during the winter. "All they have to do is bring in their fresh produce and leave with their trash," he said. Hisey said he and Cummings also plan to open a coffee shop in the building in January, and are laying plans to show outdoor movies in their parking lot and to invite bluegrass bands to play outside in the summer. Cummings said she envisions the space as an "anchor" for the community along the riverfront. "We want people to come in here and have so much to look at that it's going to be an all-day thing," she said. The market is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with extended hours during First Friday. For more information, visit trailsmarket.com or call Hisey, (785) 806-7171. More space at new Walgreens Walgreens' new store at 2101 N.W. Topeka Blvd. will offer more medical services, as well as a larger product selection, company officials said. Walgreens moved from its former location across the street earlier this year and announced the new store's formal opening in late November. Company spokesman Phil Caruso said the new store is larger and allows for a "well-experience format" in the pharmacy area, with more communication between the pharmacists and the public. Pharmacists will be able to offer more services, such as immunizations and blood pressure screenings, Caruso said, and will be able to talk to customers about how to manage their medications. Those who prefer can go to a private room to discuss why they need a medication and how to take it properly, he said. "The pharmacist is more accessible," he said. "The idea is really more interaction." The larger space also allows for a greater selection of frozen foods and an expanded cosmetics section. Customers particularly will notice more varieties of nail products, Caruso said. (c) 2013 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |