Lexington Market reopens without some vendors as business suffers due to coronavirus

The disruption to business as usual precedes a wave of change for the downtown market. Soon Lexington Market will move to a new building adjacent to its existing home, a $40 million redevelopment project slated to finish by the end of 2021. While many current occupants plan to move their stalls and kiosks into the new building, others have expressed uncertainty given the costs of relocating and buying new equipment.

After closing its doors in March due to the pandemic, the market — thought to be the oldest continuously running public market in the country — reopened last week. In April, crews demolished a portion of the market called the Arcade to make way for the new development, which is expected to add some 270 jobs and a $351 million economic impact over the next decade, officials have said.

Vendors are operating in the East Market now, which will be salvaged for a second phase of work, according to publicly available documents provided by Seawall Development, which is leading the project.

Baltimore Public Markets Corp., which oversees the 238-year-old Lexington Market and other city markets, did not respond to questions about what vendors had closed during the pandemic. Stacey Pack, the organization’s project manager, said the bulk of vendors returned, but “a handful” of operators did not.

“It’s sad, of course, but that’s what’s happening throughout our industry,” said Pack, adding that those vendors still could come back.

Lexington Market’s fate closely mirrors that of the restaurant industry as a whole, which has struggled nationwide as people adapt to social distancing regulations precipitated by the coronavirus.

Most restaurateurs, even before the pandemic, operated on razor thin margins. But new capacity limits have shrunk revenue and profits, and some city eateries have alternated between opening and closing their doors as staffers tested positive for the disease.

While some business owners have adapted to pickup and delivery — including Faidley’s Seafood, Dancing Potato and Sausage Master in Lexington Market — others did not latch on to the new methods.

Steve Sparkman, who works at Dave Green’s Poultry and has been employed at the market since the ‘70s, said navigating the closure has been hard for his stall. New guidelines at Lexington Market have the vendors come in only three days per week, which makes Sparkman’s role challenging.

“I can’t restock my meat properly,” he said. “It only stays fresh for a couple of days.”

Pack said the three-day limit was meant to gauge merchants’ and the public’s response to reopening. She said if there is demand to offer more hours, management will reevaluate and adjust.

“Our markets are incredibly important to our city in terms of food access as well as being hubs for small business and providing jobs for hundreds within the city, so opening safely has always been our first priority,” Pack said in a statement. “We want to do everything in our power to make sure that our merchants make it through this because our markets are nothing without them.”

Houvardas, who has operated his bakery stalls since 1974, said foot traffic has been slow in the first week back since reopening, which he attributes to the uptick in COVID-19 cases around the state and patrons’ hesitation to venture out of the house. The three-day schedule doesn’t help either, he added.

Merchants now also must take extra steps to keep themselves and their customers safe, which further reduces profit margins. In addition to using masks and gloves, many vendors have installed plexiglass shields around their stalls. The market put up signage and markers on the floor to help space out customers and also blocked some aisles to control foot traffic. Arrows on the ground guide patrons in a suggested direction.

Adhering to Baltimore’s restrictions on indoor dining, the market has blocked off seating inside and capped visitor capacity at 50%. Hand sanitizer stations are available for patrons, too.

But the market‘s layout poses challenges for social distancing compared to others in the city. Vendors at Fells Point’s Broadway Market have adapted to the pandemic using the building’s windows as pickup hubs and opened the patio when outdoor dining restrictions lifted in Baltimore. As a result, Broadway Market remains fully occupied, Pack said.

“With Lexington Market, the structure itself doesn’t lend itself to social distancing as much,” she said.

Damye Hahn, manager of Faidley’s Seafood, said her family’s store has the advantage of using its own entrance. Customers who come to Faidley’s door cannot enter the market from there or vice versa, which helps keep the capacity limit. A few of the seafood vendor’s standing tables have been moved from inside to a small space outside for customers who want to eat there.

Hahn said the shop has shifted to mostly non-prepared food service since the beginning of the pandemic, offering delivery and shipping as well as curbside pickup. Faidley’s maintained business through its existing website and active social media presence, she said, though she saw a drop-off of older clientele whom she was not able to reach virtually.

None of Faidley’s employees have been laid off, though their day-to-day jobs have changed significantly to meet the demands of the moment, Hahn said. Some shifted to social media while others took on cleaning or new marketing responsibilities.

“We had all these people to help us navigate through this,” she said. “If you’re not set up that way, it’s much more difficult to do.”

Faidley’s also partnered with local nursing homes and University of Maryland Medical Center to deliver meals to people who need the help. When the pandemic hit, the staff began calling around “everywhere,” Hahn said, looking for partnerships and new marketing opportunities.

But when one merchant in the market suffers, they all suffer, Hahn said. The market thrives best at full capacity and with a diverse mix of customers, she said.

On Friday afternoon, Glen Thrower of Northeast Baltimore came back to Lexington Market for the first time since March for a late lunch. The retired city schools employee usually comes so often that people joke he lives there.

But the coronavirus halted his routine, and he kept his distance from the market until he learned of its reopening.

“I wasn’t mad it closed, I understood why,” he said.

Thrower said he hopes the vendors’ hours extend back to full time. But, he said, none of them should get too comfortable, since the whole market will close soon.

“When they do the new part, that’ll make it even better,” he said. “The changes are long overdue.”