Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashlee Turner and Dornu Agbloe.
Hi Ashlee and Dornu, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Heritage Farmers Markets was started by my brother and his wife (Bing and Myisha Turner) in 2010 (I think lol). They operated several farmers’ markets throughout the inland empire area. I would gig at the markets, and in January 2023, a close friend reached out to ask if I was interested in having a market at her building in the Arts District. I shared that info with Bing and Myisha, and they said they were interested. The AD FM launched in June 2023. At the same time, Dornu had always been fascinated with the idea of a farmer’s market and asked if I had ever thought of having my own market. Although operating my own market was never a thought, I am an entrepreneur, I have owned numerous businesses and even been a vendor within one of Bing and Myisha’s markets. Dornu is a Fire department Veteran and also owned a transportation service back in London. Everything just kinda clicked into place; we started vending at markets, our first venture Fries Over Guys was born. My Brother and Sister previously started The Arts District Farmers Market on Saturdays but were wanting to stop commuting to LA. Dornu and I took over, we wanted to add our own spin to farmers’ markets, add a vibe, somewhere cool to hang out. We changed the market to Thursday evenings, hired a DJ, and curated our Shop, Eat, Chill slogan.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Smooth?!?! Anything but lol. Being a market operator is not easy because there are so many moving parts. Our first order of business was to pause the market. We loved the Arts District and wanted to take some time to learn about the community. We started speaking to the people who lived there, attending city meetings, and immersing ourselves locally. The Arts District Community is a very close-knit community and it was pretty tough making connections initially. Our second order of business was to change the day and time. The Arts District is a hip and vibrant community, and waking up at 9am on Saturday morning to visit a farmers market was a no-go! We changed the time to every Thursday, 3pm – 7pm.
Managing our vendors is no easy feat, each vendor relies on us to ensure the market is operating correctly, that includes traffic. Where we were previously located had pretty low foot traffic so we had to relocate moving all our vendors to a new location without too much disruption wasn’t easy. We’re continuously evolving and each week we’re excited to add new vendors and welcome new customers.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Heritage Urban?
We both operate The Arts District Farmers Market, and we work well together. We collaborate on most tasks, but also recognize each other’s strengths and allow each other to lead accordingly. We’re really proud of Fries Over Guys! We have a quality product, that people love and we love our customers. FOG is a pop-up that serves flavored French Fries. FOG paved the way for our market. Being vendors, we understand the trials and tribulations that vendors deal with regularly. Having experienced life as vendor, it’s easier to understand how to better serve vendors. We try to be as transparent as possible, even when it’s difficult. We truly value the opinion of everyone we work with. Our vendors have such a great attitude and our “shop, Eat, Chill vibe just creates the ultimate environment.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
We love watching vendors grow. Many everyday people are entrepreneurs at heart but can’t dive all the way in, whether their reasoning is time, money, fear of failure, etc. We watch vendors grow from selling at the market for a little extra cash into full-time entrepreneurs it’s rewarding and awesome to see.
Contact Info:
- Website: heritagefarmersmarket.org
- Instagram: artsdistrictcfm
