Like Paris in Dutronc’s song, the Nice National Interest Market swings into action each morning just before dawn to welcome hundreds of customers, mostly professionals seeking fruits, flowers, vegetables, meats, and fish.
But this year has a particularly special flavor for this market in Nice, which has proudly celebrated its 40th anniversary by hosting the World Congress of Wholesale Markets, installing a fiber optic network covering the entire market, organizing the second edition of the MIN festival which welcomed close to 27,000 visitors, and finally, by creating its website: www.min-de-nice.fr.
It is 5 AM, and the MIN of Nice is waking up. Merchants and resellers have unpacked their finest goods and the first buyers can already be seen, who, after stopping for a coffee break in one of the market’s bars are now, hands on the chard, zucchinis, and tomatoes, undisputed stars of both the plate and the Nice basket.
Chef de cuisine, self-service managers, local market resellers… There are more of them around 7-8 AM wandering in the central square rows as well as in the surrounding boxes. And there, they chat, haggle, and slap hands as was already the case a few years ago. Because here, everyone knows each other, generations have gotten used to following one another, and it’s not uncommon to see the same names on the boxes since the creation of the Nice wholesale market.
But the MIN of Nice is not just about fruits, vegetables, and flowers because many companies dealing in meat or seafood products as well as frozen goods have set up shop within the Nice market, and there are also other services like lawyers or accountants available. As seen, the Nice National Interest Market thrives on diversity which is well appreciated by customers who find, right at their fingertips, solutions to their needs.
“Here, we are like a family and we all know each other very well. It’s a bit like a village within the city, a village that lives from 3 AM until the early afternoon. It’s incredibly pleasant to meet up every day for a new morning,” said one market regular.
Mrs. Piccini is one of the veterans at the MIN of Nice and one of the most involved in the management of this vessel helmed by the company Sominice, with a Joseph Calza at the helm determined to make his market one of the most efficient platforms in the Southeast of France. She happily tells us that she is present every day in this market that exudes good health, and, not to be overlooked, demonstrates robust financial health.
Happy birthday, therefore, to this thriving Nice market and to all the resellers and concessionaires who compose it, thus making it the second largest market on the national scale after the famous Parisian market of Rungis.
