The Information Centre has already been operating in the very centre of Riga Central Market for a month. There are two consultants responsible for managing day-to-day issues – provision of information assistance to buyers and sellers. And here is just a place where you can buy an item from the new exclusive souvenir collection.

The establishment of the Information Centre in the Riga Central Market has been discussed since 2010, but only during the last year, this project has been intensively worked on. Artis Druvinieks, the Chairman of the Board of Riga Central Market, calls the new Information Centre a “meeting place” or “support point”.
“The area is huge and the stream of visitors is endless. Especially, if a person is not a resident of Riga City, it has real problems with orientation. Finding a particular product or trader is one problem, but there are instances when tourists tend to lose their way when they arrive on the market. Therefore, there is a need for such a meeting place and a reference point from which it all starts. The Information Centre meets all what we were expecting. In any case, we understand that it gives support to the residents of Riga as well, because the inhabitants of the capital themselves are not always orientated about where they go, where to look for things of interest and where to ask questions. Here we have wonderful girls who are capable to manage this,” Artis Druvinieks, the Chairman of the Board of Riga Central Market, explains.

The Information Centre is a separate structure of the Riga Central Market, which is open six days a week, except Monday. Everyone may address here from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Brigita Ose is one of two consultants who ensure close and continuous communication between buyers, traders and the market on a daily basis.

“A couple of days ago, a woman came in telling that she has a big orchard and she wants to market her harvest. She enquired about permissions she needs for trade, who to address to, what documents she needed, and we explained everything to her. Now, the St. Michael’s Day Fair is coming up on September 28, and farmers are already coming to apply for their trade stands. Local salespeople are also excited about setting up the Information Centre, as they are happy about opportunity to send the buyers to a specific location to resolve the issues occurred. The funniest thing that happened this month – people came and asked – “where the Central Market is located?” Brigita, the consultant of the Information Centre, says. She calls the Riga Central Market her second home. “The Central Market is a great part of my life – my family also goes shopping here. I have always enjoyed this place and it has always seemed to me that this is the real centre of Riga where you can meet friends and relatives, buy delicious meal and drinks. The market becomes the second home as both farmers and vendors who trade here become a part of the family because they will advise you what better to choose and buy for everyday needs.” The Information Centre offers various booklets about current events and market history. All of this information can also be found electronically on tablets, with six languages ​​available – Latvian, English, Russian, Swedish, German and Chinese.

“Our collective idea is to create something new in the Riga Central Market – our own souvenir line. We have invited a well-known caricaturist – Gatis Šļūka to help. Many thanks to Gatis for not saying no to us. At first he was not too sure that all this would work, but eventually we managed to convince him, and he joined the process. The final result seems witty, interesting and pleasant for the visitors,” Artis Druvinieks says, adding that the Information Centre is just one of the things planned to surprise the inhabitants of Riga and the visitors of the city.

“Everyone have to discover the market by themselves. You should come, get acquainted with us. We are those who try to break stereotypes about the market. Once upon a time, the market was the place to come for potatoes and strawberries. But for years, we’ve been trying to break these stereotypes and show that we’re attractive and interesting enough to be not only a place to buy something to eat, but also a place to spend time, a place to relax – exhibitions, concerts, sports activities, fairs are held here, the Gastro Market has been opened. We still have a long way to go and we think we will have a lot of things to surprise people with in the future,” Artis Druvinieks, the Chairman of the Board of Riga Central Market, concludes.

Contacting the staff of Riga Central Information Centre is also possible by phone – 28050909, 67229985.