LIGONIER, Pa. — The Ligonier Country Market is looking to move its location, which may result in new patrons, a new city and possibly a name change.
“The thought of the Ligonier Country Market not being in Ligonier is a bit absurd, but we have to do what is in the best interest of the vendors,” said Attorney Mark Sorice, who represents the Ligonier Country Market.
He said the Loyalhanna Watershed Association terminated the markets’ lease on their property after 25 years, so they’re forced to find a new location. The fire department offered to host, but the township didn’t approve the rezoning request.
“There was a lot of effort to try and keep it there, and unfortunately, it wasn’t successful,” Sorice said.
The market is every Saturday morning from May through September and typically brings heavy foot traffic to the diamond in Ligonier.
Store owners like Brenda Shaffer from My Honeybee are devastated by the move.
“It’s probably about a 25 to 35% increase in the number of people that come in the shop, which is a direct impact on our sales,” Shaffer said.
“In the past year, the market brought 77,000 visitors to Ligonier and 800,000 in the last five years in gross earnings,” Sorice said.
Last week, the Ligonier Country Market submitted an application for a special events permit to the City of Greensburg to operate at Lynch Field. The request would have to be approved on May 11, and the first market would be the following Saturday, May 16. But folks in Ligonier say they’d be shocked if locals made the 30-minute drive.
“It’s a very big disappointment for us because a lot of our people who live in town would walk down to the market, which is no longer a possibility,” Shaffer said.
“The best place would have been Ligonier,” Sorice said. “But we didn’t have a choice in that matter. We were forced out.”
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