Farmers market scrambles for new space

Steele’s closure forces ‘turmoil,’ new location

FORT COLLINS — During most winters, Fort Collins Farmers Market organizers lie dormant, barely stirring.

But this winter was different. When Steele’s Markets Inc. succumbed to bankruptcy in November, the farmers market was rudely awakened, not knowing whether it would keep its long-sought home in the Steele’s parking lot at 802 W. Drake Road.

Susan Pope, board secretary of the Colorado Agricultural Marketing Cooperative, which runs the market, called it “turmoil.”

“It’s been hectic,” she said. “(But) we finally secured a place to start.”

The farmers market is scheduled to open May 5 in the Long’s Drug parking lot,…