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On July 19^th, The Open Market officially re-opened for business.  A wide range of traders welcomed a huge crowd of VIPs and public.  The day was full of activity.  The 18 Grocery arranged for a Chinese Lion Dance, which is a tradition that brings good luck to new ventures. Thirty amazing voices from the Hullaballo Community Quire filled our market plaza with song.  The brilliant jazz group Her Father’s Daughter got many visitors up on their feet as they played two incredible sets for our guests.  They were accompanied by the joyous Brighton Lindy Hoppers who wowed us all by making the Lindy Hop look effortless!

We were so pleased that The Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Brian Fitch, and the Leader of the Council, Jason Kitkat, both made time to come down and show their support.  Both appeared to be leaving with some great market purchases under their arms!  Victoria Williams spoke on behalf of the Brighton Open Market Community Interest Company (CIC), who now own and run the market.  She thanked all of the key players for all of their hard work in the 8 years that it took to this point: Hyde Housing, Ethical Property Company and, of course, the traders old and new who believed in the project.  Pat Mears, who has been trading in the market since 1957, said that he had seen the market change and evolve in many ways over the years but that this was its best form yet!

The market was officially declared open by the Lord Lieutenant of Sussex who managed to visit almost every stall and Studio in the market.  In a short speech, he reminded everyone how proud we should all be of this market.  It is a wonderful asset for the London Road area, but also for Brighton as a whole.  His speech was met with a huge cheer as everyone celebrated the official opening. 

On June 17th, 45 of Brighton’s newest entrepreneurs received the keys to their new spaces in Brighton’s historic Open Market. With a strong focus on local producers and ethical products, these traders will bring a wide-ranging selection of produce and freshly prepared foods to the site, as well as an exceptional variety of arts, crafts, fashions, services, garden goods and more.  For a full list of market traders, click here

The vision for the new Open Market is to have at its heart fresh, nutritious, local and quality food to reflect current concerns over health and environmental sustainability. The inviting and varied mix of stalls selling these products will please long standing and loyal customers while attracting a new audience that will help secure the market’s future success.