Opened 10 years ago, the Boston Public Market is thriving and was recently named the #3 public market in the country by USA Today. (Photo courtesy of BPM)

THIS SUMMER MARKS the 10-year anniversary of the Boston Public Market—ten years since a long-held vision for a year-round indoor public food market in downtown Boston finally came to life at 100 Hanover Street.

Inspired by iconic public markets in other cities—like Pike Place in Seattle, Reading Terminal in Philadelphia, and the Ferry Building in San Francisco—the idea was to create a permanent home for New England food producers, connecting urban residents and visitors with the region’s bounty. Unlike many of its counterparts, the Boston Public Market was founded as a nonprofit and conceived as a “market on a mission.”

Since opening in 2015, the market has been home to over 30 permanent vendors and more than 100 pop-up businesses each year. It supports local farmers, fishermen, bakers, cheesemakers, and other food entrepreneurs—many of whom face steep barriers to entering traditional retail. More than just a food hall, the Market was built to nurture small businesses, educate the public on nutrition and sustainability, and bring the community together around food.

The impact of that mission is now being recognized nationally. Just this month, USA Today named the Boston Public Market the #3 public market in America—a jump from 7th place last year—outranking several of the very markets that originally served as its inspiration. For a nonprofit market that started with a bold idea and local ambition, it’s a meaningful milestone.

That mission was tested like never before just five years into our story, when the COVID-19 pandemic turned bustling markets across the world into ghost towns. For a place that thrives on in-person connection and foot traffic, the early days of the pandemic were devastating. Our vendors rely on daily sales, and the disappearance of downtown workers and tourists meant that staying afloat became a daily challenge.

Many public spaces and businesses closed permanently during that time. But the Boston Public Market made a different choice: to weather the storm as a collective. As CEO since 2016, I can say unequivocally that the Market’s survival—and its recovery since—has hinged on staying true to its core mission.

We made the radical decision not to charge rent while our doors were closed. When we reopened, we introduced flexible lease terms tied to vendor sales, ensuring that their success was our success. We thought creatively—launching an outdoor farmers market on our patio, delivering groceries across the city, and reconfiguring our space to welcome people back safely.

And it worked. Nearly all of our vendors made it through the pandemic. Community partnerships deepened. The City of Boston’s Resiliency Fund helped support vendors as they collectively prepared more than 32,000 meals for Pine Street Inn. We learned that when local government understands the central role small businesses play in a city’s vitality, good things happen.

Public markets like ours are part of the civic fabric in many cities. They bring character and identity to a place, provide economic opportunity, and foster a sense of belonging. Boston deserves that same richness—and that’s what we’ve tried to build over the past decade.

We’re still recovering from the long tail of the pandemic, but we’ve doubled down on our mission. In 2024 alone, we hosted over 650 community engagement events—92 percent of them free to the public. Not every idea was a hit (our comedy night was light on laughs, and a dog adoption day went sideways when the dogs didn’t show up), but every one of them brought people together and supported our vendors.

Ten years in, the Boston Public Market is a thriving example of what’s possible when a city invests in its small businesses, local food systems, and public spaces. The biggest lesson from the challenges we’ve faced? If we want Boston to remain vibrant, diverse, and resilient, we must keep championing the small businesses that give it life.

Cheryl Cronin is CEO of the Boston Public Market.