Farmer's market returning to downtown Greensburg

The farmers market is coming back to downtown Greensburg.

“We always wanted to go back to Greensburg,” said Paul Sarver, head of the Central Westmoreland Farmer’s Market Association. “The downtown, the merchants and the customers always appreciated us.”

For the last few summers, the market has been held twice a week at Lynch Field, which is in the city but not downtown.

Sarver remembers working at the downtown market as a teenager in the 1970s.

When he took over in the ’90s, the market moved from one location to another every few years, some in downtown, some not. For various reasons, it was hard to find a permanent home.

Lately, Greensburg officials and business owners started working on a plan to bring the market back.

“The Greensburg Business and Professional Association reached out to the farmer’s market to say, ‘We’d love to see it come downtown,’” city Councilman Greg Mertz said.

Merchants and city officials worked to find a place and time to hold the market that wouldn’t disrupt downtown traffic and parking, Mertz said.

Starting May 14, the market will be open from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays in the Buncher Parking Lot, next to DV8 Cafe on South Pennsylvania Avenue.

On Saturdays, the market will be at Lynch Field, as before.

Sarver said he expects it to work. He hopes it will appeal to pedestrians who live and work in Greensburg and to drivers who will be able to find downtown parking after business hours.

He also hopes it will be a long-term home, so the market can put its nomadic past behind it.

“Every time you move locations, you lose customers,” he said.

Mertz said he expects the farmers market will benefit downtown businesses, and vice versa.

“(Customers) can not only get their fresh produce and visit the farmers market, but they could also potentially visit other local shops in the city of Greensburg,” he said.