Vandergrift Market opens for holiday shopping every Saturday, supporting local businesses

A holiday market has returned to historic Vandergrift.

Vandergrift Market offers many vendors Saturdays on the lower-level floor of the former J.C. Penney department store at 134 Grant Ave.

Market hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday through Dec. 18.

In its second season, volunteers with the Vandergrift Improvement Program are working to promote small businesses in the borough.

VIP, founded as a nonprofit in 2004, is dedicated to the protection, restoration and preservation of the Vandergrift community.

“We wanted to provide a space for local vendors to have incubator shops during the holidays and also bring in a little bit of revenue to help with the upkeep of the building,” VIP volunteer and organizer Lisa Dormire said.

Vendors paid $100 for a season booth pass.

The building is owned by VIP but lacks heat, so shoppers are encouraged to dress appropriately for their shopping visit.

Refreshments will be sold, and goods offered include wooden signs, glassware, clothing, craft items, wreaths, jewelry, art, candles and stained glass creations.

Casey and Steve Cooper of Vandergrift opened Beaglebee’s, an art-based business, last July.

The business moniker was inspired by Lucy, the couple’s 2-year-old rescue beagle.

Casey, 30, is a Highlands High School graduate and self-taught artist. She said she hopeful small businesses will make a comeback in the borough.

“For a small town, it’s been a little bit busier than I would have expected,” she said. “We have seven vendors now, but we will have new vendors. It’s trying to revitalize.”

Dormire said, although the historic building is beautiful, it needs “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in repairs before it can be utilized to its full potential.

VIP hopes to secure grant funding to help that become a reality.