Downtown Wichita Falls Farmers Market sees increased traffic since city takeover

Farmer’s markets help create a sense of community no matter where they are. In Wichita Falls’ case, there are two of them. However, when Downtown Development was going through some financial changes, many were worried about the various programs and events they put on — the Downtown Wichita Falls Farmers Market along 8th and Ohio, being one of those. Fortunately, the City of Wichita Falls stepped in and the Parks and Recreation department took over on February 1, 2026.

It has since been around two months since said takeover, so Dark Roast staff took to the market to see how the vendors thought it was going.

When Downtown Development announced the takeover, they stated in a Facebook post that they’ve put a lot of work into making sure the vendors don’t see any changes. From the people that Dark Roast spoke with, that appears to be true. Vendor and Owner of Front Porch Farms, Abraxas Patton, whose daughter manages the market, says he was unsure of what was to come when the funding issues put a strain on the organization.

“I was kind of just taken aback a little bit,” Patton expressed. “We’ve been under Downtown Development for the better part of over five years. We thought they did a great job. I think the scariest part was not knowing what the city was going to bring.”

After seeing the turnouts the past couple of months, Patton said things have improved. One of the biggest issues he said there was between the market and Downtown Development was a lack of communication. According to Patton, communication isn’t as much of an issue anymore. 

“The city has done a lot. I think they’re more responsive whenever we need supplies or maintenance,” Patton said. “We’ve seen the market grow some, that’s for sure.”

One of the more notable changes from vendors is that the last section of 8th Street, past Ohio Ave, has been closed down. This adjustment has allowed vendors to set up in the street. This is a similar approach to how Potencia Projects handled the art walk takeover. Additionally, the prices for people to set up have stayed the same.

Tina Davis, another vendor at the Downtown Farmers Market mirrored a lot of what Patton had to say. In short, Davis has only seen the market grow which has brought in a lot more traffic. She recalled the market having slowed down immensely before being under new management,  which became very discouraging. However, for the same reasons, Davis said now it’s improved and feels like a place where you want to spend your time Saturday morning.

“It feels like there’s a lot more community now,” Davis stated.

All in all, from the vendors Dark Roast spoke with, they are happy with the direction the Downtown Farmers Market is taking. Of course there are some more improvements they’d like to see made, such as the aging building and its inability to keep water out. Even so, it’s starting to rebuild the community it once had. As the city finds various ways to keep the programs and initiatives Downtown Development put on alive, many are interested in seeing the long term impacts and how they will affect the greater downtown area.