At Lexington Market in West Baltimore, the strains of a saxophone and a string bass float over the crowd outside Ben Lex Tobacco. Diners at the tall round tables and shoppers applaud the vocal and sax solos. Some sway to the music.
A short distance away, occasional cries punctuate the low rumble of voices that drown out the sound of the five-man jazz band.
"Greens, four pounds for $3," a vendor calls. In another area of the market, a group wanders through the crowded aisles - "Which one? There's lots of bakeries," one asks. Elsewhere, a little boy whines, "Mommy, I want something to eat." And of course, the most-heard comment of all - merchants asking, "Can I help you?"
Such are the sights and sounds of a busy marketplace. With a $4.2 million renovation nearly finished and a new general manager in place since August, the 220-year-old market is trying to keep pace with changes in the surrounding neighborhood.
"The revitalization is not new. It's an extension of a proud history," said Casper Genco Jr., who has been general manager of Lexington Market since Aug. 19. He hopes to expand and improve the market's offerings, while enjoying its continuing success, he said.
The renovation - including a new facade, improved lighting, new and expanded seating areas and new restrooms - is only the beginning, he said. He also hopes to improve training and recruiting of housekeeping and security staff.
Genco has increased the number of security officers at the market, said Bill Marvelis, owner of Mount Olympus, a Greek food stall.
Since his arrival, Genco has hired two full-time security officers, for a total of 18, and hired one part-time officer. The new deputy chief of the Lexington Market Police, Jerome Greer, spent 30 years with the Baltimore police before coming to Lexington Market in September. The market police are commissioned officers with the authority to make arrests on the premises, but the only problems this fall have been minor nuisances, Greer said.
The market is becoming a more comfortable and familylike place, he said. "My family comes down and enjoys it, and there are places I won't take them," he said.
Ella Smith, who has bought her lunch at Lexington Market nearly every day since 1973, said she thinks the shopping area has changed for the better. "I can see that they're trying to make changes, and I hope it's more than just a face-lift," Smith said.
Other changes include new products. The market's directors have expanded its offerings of healthy food and plan to add Italian and Hispanic entree stalls. Recently, the owner of Rockville's Memsahib signed a lease for a new Indian restaurant to open in January, Genco said. Within the next two years, they may add stalls selling gourmet cheeses or coffees, he said.
Lexington Market's 140 independent merchants sell raw fish and chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables, and prepared food from all over the world. Those wares represent Genco's love of "the variety and vastness of the products" the food business offers, he said.
The Baltimore native, who lives in Harford County, remembers going to the market with his parents and grandparents, and seeing the enthusiasm the crowds had for the goods. "I was treated to candy and produce," Genco said, adding that his parents were "big into fresh fruit and vegetables."
He worked part time as a clerk in food shops during high school and college, but he planned to be a teacher until a co-worker told him he could do well in the food business. He changed his major at Towson University to business and has been in the food industry since.
"It's pretty much what I know," he said.
Genco, 54, has worked in the food business for 37 years, 27 of them in management for the A&P; and Super Fresh grocery chains. He moved along the East Coast between Philadelphia and Richmond, Va., then returned to Maryland 10 years ago, planning to stay. But last fall, the company asked him to transfer to New Jersey. Because he wanted to stay in Maryland, Genco left the company in February and looked for other work. He saw an ad in the newspaper for the job at Lexington Market and applied. The board of directors hired him a week later, and he began work the next week.
"This was a natural opportunity for me," he said.
While his previous experience is in big supermarket chains, he says running Lexington Market is very similar, and the board of directors agrees.
"We're very pleased that we've been able to get somebody with the kind of background that Casper has in the food industry," said board President Bernard Berkowitz.
Along with his official responsibilities, Genco enjoys interacting with the approximately 3.7 million customers who visit the market every year, he said. He knows many at the market by name and many know him, he said.
"Every week, everyone has to go to the grocery at least once," he said. "It's a neighborhood experience."