After 20 years selling baskets and gift items in Central Market, Mary Ellen Campbell has decided it's time to retire.
Campbell, 71, has sold her business to a Lancaster couple who will take over in July.
At the same time, Central Market as a whole will introduce some changes that will affect the 65 independent vendors who gather three times a week under the roof of the 118-year-old building to sell fresh produce, meats, cheeses, deli products, ethnic foods, spices, coffee, candy, baked goods, flowers and craft items.
Campbell and several other standholders say new operating rules adopted by the fledgling Central Market Trust have begun to change the way they do business. That is considered good and not so good, depending on the vendor.
The most profound change will be enforcement of the market hours, including penalties of $50 to $100 levied against uncooperative standholders.
The enforced hours will be 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
Those times have been posted on the market doors for years, but in the past standholders loosely adhered to them, setting their own hours to meet the expectations of their customers, said trust officials.
The newly enforced hours helped Campbell make up her mind. "I don't want to get up before 6 a.m.," said the vendor, who typically opened around 7 in the morning. Her customers, she said, don't shop that early in the morning.
On the other hand, Bob Meck's fruits and vegetables start to move at the crack of dawn. Meck, a member of the trust board, favors the new hours.
The nonprofit Central Market Trust was formed a year ago to take over the management and marketing of the farmers market from the city. Michael Rosenkrantz, 50, was hired in August as the trust's first full-time market master.
In April, City Council voted to hand over control of the market to the trust. Laura Wakeley, an employee of Fulton Financial Corp., is chairwoman of the trust's board. "Changing the market hours was probably the most difficult decision we've had to make so far," she said.
"What we learned is that the Lancaster community wants more from market, but the standholders need time to prepare for their customers."
It's a balancing trick between consumer demand and a vendor's wherewithal, she said.
Rosenkrantz said because the new operating time is asking more of many of the vendors, his goal is to "work with the standholders to enhance what they do."
He said he knows some standholders are unhappy with the enforced hours, but expects their entrepreneurial spirit to enable them to adapt to and profit from the changes.
"I ultimately believe in their creativity," he said.
Oscar York, 75, co-owner of Fish Express, said most of his customers buy fresh seafood in the afternoon. Opening earlier would only make his day longer, he said.
But to make it more profitable, York has asked the trust if he can add a small kitchen to his stand. He said visitors who come on motor-coach tours often ask if he sells fish sandwiches.
Wakeley said the market board is looking into what it would take to help York take his idea to fruition.
Susan Stoeckl, 39, owner of Susan's Secret Garden, a dried-flower and gift business, said she doesn't sell much in the early hours, but is working to come up with ideas and products to encourage market goers to alter their shopping habits.
"I get in earlier now, but I have time to get some things done," she said.
Stoeckl bought the business from Lois Stewart in April. "Easter was a great week to start," said Stoeckl, adding that having a stand in Central Market is a dream come true for her.
Across from the Secret Garden is Creative Edibles, owned by Dan and Sally Delgiorno, both 65.
Creative Edibles offers a variety of fresh fruit, salads, wraps, chocolate-dipped strawberries and fruit-and-vegetable bouquets.
This year, the couple began to offer home-made Italian specialties, such as spaghetti sauce and meatballs.
Meanwhile, Rosenkrantz said, he was contacted by a prospective vendor who wanted to open an Italian deli stand in market. Rather than bring in a stranger, Rosenkrantz approached the Delgiornos about expanding their offerings to include such deli items.
In recent weeks, said Dan Delgiorno, he and his wife have done some market research regarding the economic feasibility of adding new products, and thus, value, to their business.
"We have to be positive in what we do," Rosenkrantz said. "Our glass is overflowing, but we have to work together."
He acknowledged that the changes in market might bring "short-term pain" to some of the vendors.
In the past 10 years, Rosenkrantz said, the number of farmers markets in the U.S. has doubled to 4,300. Competition has also increased.
"There is a renewed interest in buying local and eating local food," he said.
Besides growing existing market businesses, Rosenkrantz has been exploring prospective vendors. "The product has to be complementary," he said.
For example, a stand for gluten-free products is open on Saturdays. And the new owners of Baskets at Central Market will add homemade soy candles to their inventory.
New vendors also have to have a business plan before they are accepted into the program. "It assures me that they know something about their business," Rosenkrantz said.
He said he's lost prospective standholders because of his stipulation, but added, "That's OK because this is serious business."
The trust's annual budget is $240,000, Rosenkrantz said.
He knows it's difficult for vendors to come up with the capital they need for product expansion.
The key is to bring them more customers.
To that end, the market master has applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a grant to fund promotions.
The federal government enacted the $1 million program last year, and Rosenkrantz said, not one farmers market from Pennsylvania received any money. He hopes to change that this year. The USDA grants up to $75,000 at a time.
Wakeley said the trust has a fiduciary duty to the county.
"To the standholders we say, 'We want your business to thrive.' It's a fine line operating between private business and the public's interest.
"Our goal is to work with the standholders," she said, "not be heavy handed."
She said the trust plans to raise more money for promotions and improvements through fundraisers and special events that attract more visitors.
Each standholder's lease, which will expire in April, has been extended to September.
Rosenkrantz said he hopes to meet with each vendor before that to discuss plans and ideas.
Judy A. Strausbaugh is a political writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached at 291-8689 or jstrausbaugh@lnpnews.com.
