A week on from the delayed opening of Queenstown's Shotover Markets the driving forces behind the indoor market say business is getting busier by the day.
David Thomson, who along with fellow ex-pat and business partner Paul Clark is behind the venture, said the market was running smoothly since it opened its doors on Wednesday.
" It's progressing every day and getting busier; the more people know about it the more they are coming down to check it out."
The indoor market on the ground floor of the Forsyth Barr building on Shotover St offers a selection of food, art and an "evolving" public space seven days a week.
Before it could open, the market first had to get resource consent, a process which took since August and was finally confirmed last Tuesday afternoon.
So far, the market hosts Deep Creek Deli, European Bakery, Gibbston Valley Cheese Company, Priya Spices and Vegetables, Wake Up Juice Bar, For The Girl Jewellery, Sagun Curry, the Mayfly Cafe, a sushi stall and an information booth and booking centre.
Still to come in the market is an ice cream maker, a fruit seller from Cromwell and, in the new year, a greenstone seller, although Mr Thomson said there was the possibility of a French couple selling crepes as well as a smoked meats stall.
He said Queenstowners were "pretty stoked" to have a juice and smoothie bar, with the curries and locals-discount coffees also popular and the tourists drawn towards the Gibbston Valley cheeses.
Mr Thomson expected the market would be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Some time after Christmas, the two musicians playing in the weekends would look to host a market "open-mic-type night" on Fridays.
If the first stage goes well, the duo plan to extend it by taking out a temporary wall and adding a further 15 stalls in February.
