St. Louis Swap Meet to Offer Great Shopping in the Great Outdoors

On Saturdays from spring through fall, farmers markets and craft fairs across the St. Louis metro area connect families to the best in locally-sourced and locally-created goodies, art and repurposed finds.

But if your schedule prevents you from getting your Saturday browsing on or if you didn’t find the item you were looking for, a new Sunday market gives you a second chance at the one-of-a-kind items the region’s small businesses and craftspeople have to offer – along with food, music and fun.

The St. Louis Swap Meet is the newest shopping experience to hit St. Louis. Led by community activist and St. Louis City advocate, Martin Casas, the family-friendly market will be held every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in South St. Louis outside the Lemp Brewery.

Although the gates won’t open until April, it has already grabbed the attention of more than 300 merchants, including vintage vendors, artists and even a unicycle craftsman, who want to bring their goods to a hungry market. Paired with food trucks and great entertainment, it’s the perfect reason to enjoy the outdoors and support area entrepreneurs.

“Sunday is a great day for a market,” Casas said. ”In fact, of the 39 outdoors markets in the region, we’ll be the only one open on Sunday in St. Louis. The backdrop of the historic Lemp Brewery is an incredible place to spend some time. Because we operate only on Sundays, we’ll have access to the vendors who are spread throughout the region on Saturday, so our selection is going to be incredible.”

He insists the Swap Meet isn’t in competition with any of the other farmers markets in town, but a complement to their efforts, giving vendors more opportunities to build their businesses and luring even more people to the region.

A family legacy expands to St. Louis

Swap meets are in Casas’s genes. Growing up in Southern California, his mom was an active participant in the famous Orange County Swap Meet. When they moved to Texas, she opened one herself, giving Casas a first-hand look at the influence upstarts can have on the neighborhoods they serve. It’s a legacy he wanted to share with his own daughter, 5-year-old Sophie, and with his adopted hometown of St. Louis.

Remarked Casas, “As you look at St. Louis and the people impacting it, you see it’s small business owners that are cleaning up storefronts and neighborhoods, and you see the community rebuilding St. Louis street by street.”

St. Louis Swap Meet’s location in the Marine Villa neighborhood near Cherokee not only fuels the vendors’ businesses, but those in the surrounding neighborhood as well. Restaurants, shops and attractions will see additional traffic stimulated by the market, which in turn, boosts their own sales. And it gives families more opportunities to uncover a hidden treasure in their backyard.

“We want the St. Louis Swap Meet to be a place where people with an idea for a business can meet their customers and grow their business. We want a place where customers can explore a new part of our city and find unique items each week. We want to add to the list of amazing things to do in St. Louis.”

If you’re a local craftsperson or vendor looking to get involved or a shopper wanting to be on top of the latest developments before the grand opening, visit www.stlswapmeet.com. Or follow them on STLSwapMeet on Facebook.