Anniversaries Abound on the Fergusons City Block December 11

Fergusons Downtown celebrates two years and Vegas Test Kitchen celebrates one year with a day-long birthday bash full of food, music, shopping and more

On December 11, 2021, the Fergusons City Block will come alive to celebrate not only the 2^nd anniversary of opening its doors and the 1^st anniversary of its incubator restaurant, Vegas Test Kitchen, but also the endurance, determination and community support it’s taken to get here, especially through 2020.

When Fergusons Downtown officially opened in December 2019, only a few of the shops were filled, but the potential was there. Within the next couple months, more local creatives and entrepreneurs were opening their first shops at the property; the monthly Market in the Alley was consistently bringing in more than 50 local vendors and approximately 2,000 visitors; the Far East Fremont locale was becoming a staple in the community for one-of-a-kind shopping experiences; a place to support local businesses, music and art; and just a cool place to hang out. But when March 2020 hit, the future was unknown.

Like so many others, Co-Founder and Creative Strategist Jen Taler, who had just spent the last two-plus years revitalizing and opening the property, knew she had to pivot. Shops began offering curbside pickup. Due to restrictions on events, Market in the Alley became The Market Shop – a brick and mortar that has carried and sold products from more than 80 local creatives since opening.

Vegas Test Kitchen opened its doors to provide a space for the local culinary community to continue working and explore their own concepts. The pandemic forced a change, and despite having only been open three months, Fergusons Downtown rose to the challenge.

Today, Fergusons Downtown is home to 32 small businesses and two restaurants. It has supported more than 15 different organizations and non-profits, donating space, support and resources for their events, concept launches and more. Through Vegas Test Kitchen, more than 30 chefs and concepts have been born and/or had a place to serve the community, with more than $670,000 going directly back to those chefs.

Since opening The Market Shop, more than $62,000 has gone back to the local vendors whose products make up the shop, and since re-launching Market in the Alley earlier this year more than $200,000 has gone back into local micro and small businesses and creatives. When live music was allowed again, Fergusons started activating its stage, and since then, it has paid out more than $35,000 to local artists and entertainers. Since opening it’s doors, Fergusons Downtown has put more than $1,000,000 back into the Las Vegas economy and community.

These are the reasons Fergusons Downtown is celebrating, and on Saturday, December 11, the Fergusons City Block is going all out for its birthday! The festivities will bring together local creatives for the community to shop, enjoy live music, eat and more. Market in the Alley will offer more than 50 small businesses to get to know and shop from (just in time for the holidays); live music will take place on the stage throughout the day; and Vegas Test Kitchen will host its birthday bash with a Food Fest, bringing back many of the chefs and concepts that have started there, including Banichka, Slurp Society, Sliced and more.

A Celebration of Life for Tony Hsieh, the Co-Founder and Visionary behind Fergusons Downtown, will also be part of the day. Fergusons Downtown and Vegas Test Kitchen invite everyone out to celebrate how far they’ve come, what they’ve been able to accomplish and what’s in store. This event is open to the public to come and enjoy!

For more information, visit fergusonsdowntown.com and vegastestkitchen.com, and follow along at @fergusonsdowntown and @vegastestkitchen.