Redlands Public Market reports a slower first year after $11 million restoration
The Redlands Public Market opened in March 2025 after an estimated $11 million restoration. Its operator says first-year sales have been slower than expected as independent tenants face higher costs and cautious spending.
Redlands Public Market opened in March 2025 after the reported restoration of a long-vacant citrus packing house, but its operator says first-year sales have been slower than expected.
The result gives Redlands an early test of whether a restored historic property just north of downtown can support a durable cluster of independent food and beverage businesses. Inland Empire Community News reported Aug. 1 that operator Jerry Tessier said the market was not producing the sales he anticipated, while tenants dealt with higher food and labor costs and cautious consumer spending.
A restored packing house with about 20 businesses
The market occupies a former citrus packing house that had been vacant for years. The restoration was reported at roughly $11 million, an estimate from the project operator rather than an audited public-project figure.
Construction began in early 2023 and finished in March 2025, according to Tessier’s account to Inland Empire Community News. The market opened with about 20 food and beverage businesses, along with a downstairs bar and a small arcade.
The project uses a food-hall model, with mostly independent operators and several businesses described by Tessier as startups or second locations. That gives small businesses a way to enter a shared venue instead of building out a full standalone restaurant, but their individual performance still depends on customer demand, staffing, supplies and other operating costs.
Operator says sales are below expectations
Tessier told Inland Empire Community News that Redlands Public Market was “not doing the sales that we thought to start out with,” comparing the early performance with the operator’s food hall in Riverside. The report did not identify an audited sales total, a formal city performance review or a specific dollar gap between expected and actual revenue.
Tessier attributed the pressure to conditions facing independent restaurants more broadly, including higher costs and customers watching their spending. The report also described food and labor expenses as challenges for the market’s tenants.
Those comments are an early business snapshot, not a final verdict on the redevelopment. They also do not establish that every Redlands restaurant or downtown business is experiencing the same results.
Why the project matters to Redlands
The City of Redlands’ Economic Development Division lists Redlands Public Market in its tourism information, alongside other local destinations and visitor resources. That confirms the market’s role in the city’s economic-development and tourism context, but does not document city financing, operating support or guarantees for the tenants.
The city’s Downtown Specific Plan identifies downtown revitalization as an economic-development objective and calls for rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic and contributing buildings in the Santa Fe Depot District. The plan also describes the district as containing industrial packing houses and other citrus-industry-related structures.
That policy context helps explain why the project has significance beyond its individual restaurants. The market is an example of putting an older citrus-era structure back into active use while trying to create pedestrian activity, visitor interest and space for local businesses.
What the first year may show
The market’s first-year experience raises a practical question for future adaptive-reuse and small-business leasing efforts: Can a restored landmark generate enough repeat traffic for independent tenants to absorb modern food, labor and occupancy costs?
The operator told the publication that roughly three-quarters of customers currently come from Redlands and that the market is still working to reach its broader trade area. He pointed to word-of-mouth, social media and programming such as weekend bands, children’s events, karaoke and trivia as ways the venue is trying to build awareness.
The reporting does not establish a formal turnaround plan, a revised leasing strategy or a city-approved operational change. It does show that tenant turnover is possible: Tessier said the original coffee shop closed and a replacement was expected.
For residents, workers and prospective tenants, the takeaway is mixed. Redlands has preserved and reactivated a prominent historic property and created a shared venue for small businesses. But the available evidence describes an early performance challenge, not proof that the model has either failed or become financially durable.
Whether the slower start proves temporary or structural will depend on future customer traffic, tenant retention, operating costs and the market’s ability to attract visitors beyond its current Redlands base.
Sources
- Inland Empire Community News report on Redlands Public Market's first year
- City of Redlands Economic Development Division
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