As 2010 turns into 2011, big changes are coming to the Columbia Market House and it is not very good.As of today, three stand holders are leaving, as is Brian Long the acting market manager. To say the market is in a state of flux is a huge understatement.
The three stands who are leaving are Sadie’s Pretzels, M&M Meats and Sunnyside Pastries.
Mahlon and Ruthie Stoltzfus, the owners of M&M Meats and Sunnyside, were thanking their customers today. The pastry stand is expected to reopen in May at the Turkey Hill Experience.
The lunchmeat stand is staying open.
Friday will be Long’s last day as market manager. He is leaving to pursue other ventures.
Depending on what day you go to market, who you talk too, etc., there have been good days and bad days for stand holders at the Columbia Market.
With the recent improvements made by the borough from government grants, the market has gotten a little bit of a new look. One of the big problems, in addition to the lack of people venturing into the market, is the lack of hot water for the stand holders to properly clean their stands. It was suppose to be installed by the borough as part of the grants, but never was.
Can you say code violation, right under the borough’s nose? Yes.
Whether you want to believe it or not, the Columbia Market House is on the decline. For months, there has been talk of a private market trust taking over running the facility from the borough, but nothing has moved forward and the market is floundering.
The stand holders are not making a lot of money is another issue.
I might be in the minority on this one too, but with other markets in the area (Root’s, Green Dragon, Central Market in Lancaster, and close markets in York), our market is not a two-day market.
Brian Long has tried hard to make the market work, but his hands are tied by the politics of our town.
That needs to change.
I am just going to point out some other issues. Since the bucks are tight in our town, what are we losing each week keeping this facility open? Second, perhaps if there were some other events in the facility, it might work. Third, Columbia Borough still hasn’t learned it should not be in the real estate business and fourth, will those who gave our town the grant money look into how the money was used, if the job (no hot water, etc.) was not completed or if the facility were to close?
Plenty of questions, not a lot of answers, but I really think the market could work if it was marketed right and politics were taken out of the equation.
Just right now, things are broken and need fixed.
