Paper City Houston

It is open, but not close to done. That is the best way to sum up the Houston Farmers Market, which has been open for nearly 80 years at 2520 Airline Drive in the North Heights, but has never looked like this. On a sunny Sunday, there is a steady stream of foot traffic.

People stroll the new wider paths under the gleaming metal awnings of the open-air pavilions. Check out the two small silos near the back pavilion. Kids run on the green lawn with two small hills on each end of it. And plenty of produce is bought. You can see where the new restaurants are going to be. Note the location of the showcase butcher’s shop to come. And what mostly comes through so far is how Houston-centric this entire renovated and reimagined farmers market is going to be.

“We’ve been very deliberate going about how we go about picking the vendors,” MLB Capital founding partner Todd Mason tells PaperCity in an exclusive interview. “All the way to who the produce vendors are — and to who are the restaurants. And everything in-between.”