Slow Foodscray Market Is Footscray’s New First Sunday Ritual

Slow Foodscray Market is the new monthly market in Maddern Square, taking over the heart of Footscray every first Sunday. Before this, I had only been to the square once, at night, on my way into Snake Bar to celebrate a friend’s epic milestone birthday. A Sunday morning here is a completely different vibe, and it is so nice to see this little corner of the suburb being used and out and about again.

My first point of comparison for Slow Foodscray Market is SloFo WeFo Farmers Market, the closer-to-home pop-up market I have been frequenting for years. The first obvious difference is that Slow Foodscray Market has no fresh produce stall, which makes sense because Footscray Market is just a stone’s throw away.

The second thing I noticed at Slow Foodscray Market was the super long queue at the be butter pastry stall, so I made a mental note to come back. Then I started counting. At least four coffee stalls, at least two of them selling matcha and ube, plus another stall selling ube on its own (ube is clearly having a moment). Two bread stalls and two sticker stalls. This market is right up my alley! There is also beer, a juice bar, and the flower lady who usually sits at Footscray station.

Now, Footscray isn’t Footscray without a little commotion, and Slow Foodscray Market delivered. Right in front of the char grill stall, a man was lying on the ground refusing to get up, while two security guards calmly tried to talk him into it. There you go, a bit of Footscray for you.

The two markets have their similarities too. Both have an empanada stall, though Condor Andino Australia at Slow Foodscray Market had a long queue. I took another mental note to circle back to it, along with Coco Bananas, a record stall with a hole in the wall taking coffee orders that seems to have a cult following of hipster coffee drinkers. I also spotted a couple of familiar faces from SloFo WeFo, the Yemeni coffee guy and the performer artist.

In the end, I had to pass on everything I had noted. Fafa had recently redeemed the “make me a meal” voucher I gave him for Valentine’s Day years ago (I didn’t even know he kept it), so I was on the hook to cook him a rassam and ikan teri sambal combo that afternoon. The cake, the Coco Bananas coffee and a very tempting lunch of jollof rice from the African stall will have to wait for my next Slow Foodscray Market visit.

I can’t wait to return to Slow Foodscray Market, this time with Fafa, at least for part of it, so he can help me carry my bread and stickers while I sip an ube matcha in one hand and eat an empanada with the other. I am sure he will be down with a bribe of a sizzling sausage and a locally made beer. See you on the first Sunday in Slow Foodscray, Footscray.

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