The Boston Public Market Reopens!
Photos by Michael Piazza / Styled by Beth Wickwire
After six months of closure, the Boston Public Market is back and open for business. Beginning September 16th, the market will open Wednesday through Saturday from 8:00am to 6:00pm.
Head down to 100 Hanover Street for a whole new BPM experience with its same focus on healthy, locally sourced food and commitment to community, along with an industry-leading emphasis on social distancing, cleanliness and safety.
The Market’s reopening is crucial both to keep onsite small businesses viable, and to help increase access to safe, healthy local food for visitors. The BPM’s Outdoor Market, which launched this spring, will continue every Monday and Tuesday during regular business hours.
“Reopening our doors means continuing to support the success of the local businesses at the Market, and providing access to healthy, sustainable food options,” said Boston Public Market CEO, Cheryl Cronin. “Safety is of the utmost importance and we are confident that we’ve put procedures into place to ensure the indoor Market is a safe shopping destination for customers, employees and vendors alike. While it may look and operate a bit differently now, the Market is the same vibrant and dynamic space that Boston knows and loves.”
New Covid-19 protocols will include required mask wearing, hand sanitizer and hand washing stations throughout the Market; the elimination of indoor onsite dining and seating areas to prevent congregating; dividers between vendors and consumer-facing point of sale systems; social distancing markers; limited capacity and frequent cleaning of surfaces and door handles; and upgraded HVAC system to improve filtration and ventilation, and much more.
Additionally, the BPM will open a small-scale outdoor dining plaza on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, where guests will be able to enjoy the prepared food offerings of the Market. For the Market’s full “Safety-First Reopening Strategy” as well as their entire reopening plan, which was reviewed and approved by the City of Boston, please visit: bostonpublicmarket.org/reopening
The reopening crew will feature 30 local vendors, offering grocery items like produce, meat, fish, dairy, handmade pasta and spices, along with prepared foods ranging from vegan smoothies and juices to smoked fish and iconic pastrami sandwiches, as well as artisan gifts from throughout New England. All food vendors accept SNAP/EBT for eligible Market products. A full list of BPM vendors can be found at: bostonpublicmarket.org/vendors/
During the first reopening week, through Saturday September 19th, Boston Beer Alley will sell cold beer to be enjoyed alongside purchased food items on The BPM’s new outdoor dining plaza, located outside the Market on the RMV side on JFK Surface Road.
If you’re a local food advocate, on your first visit to the Boston Public Market you'll feel like a kid in a candy store. Every conceivable food product grown or produced in Massachusetts is there, lined up in an arcade of brightly-lit and colorful stands, like a cross between your favorite farm stand and nearby Quincy Market.
From conception to opening, it took 19 years. It was a massive undertaking; city and state agencies, as well as private companies and non-profits, coordinated to fund, design and build out the space. Finally, in 2011, the pieces came together: approvals, location and finances were finalized and the organization went full-steam ahead. Vendors were chosen with strict hyper-local criteria. Boston Bounty Bucks and SNAP/EBT cards would be accepted. Groundbreaking on the build-out of an unused parcel above the Haymarket T station took place in October 2014, and by July 2015 it was completed and opened to the public.
We are the public in the Boston Public Market. And if we want this incredible local resource to survive and thrive during this pandemic and beyond, we need to support them now. Make a trip to the BPM this week and use it like a trip to the grocery store—there’s even validated parking in the building.
ABOUT THE MARKET
The Boston Public Market is an indoor, year-round marketplace featuring 30 New England artisans and food producers housed under one roof offering fresh foods, prepared meals, crafts and specialty items. Residents and visitors alike can find seasonal, locally sourced food from Massachusetts and New England, including fresh produce, meat and poultry, eggs, dairy, seafood, baked goods, specialty items, crafts and prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Everything sold at the Market is produced or originates in New England, as the seasons allow.
The Market is a civic, community-building space for farmers, fishers, food entrepreneurs, neighbors, customers and partners who come together around the common culture of food. They create opportunity for small businesses to thrive and nourish visitors with experiences, conversation and education about public health and the impact of buying local food. Year-round festivals, workshops, cooking classes and tours create an engaging, educational experience and a vibrant environment for everyone.
The Boston Public Market Association, a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, developed and operates the Market with public impact goals to support: economic development, New England food system resilience, public health and education, affordability, and access. Development of the Boston Public Market in 2015 was a partnership between the Boston Public Market Association, individual and corporate donors, foundations, the City of Boston, and the project’s seed funder, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
This press release was created in conjunction with AllHeartPR and Tara Taft’s BPM article from our Winter 2016 issue, which you can find here.
