The Broad Street Market opened in 1863 — making it one of the oldest continuously operating public markets in the United States — and it still occupies its original two-building complex in the Midtown neighbourhood. More than 40 vendors sell produce, meats, cheeses, baked goods, prepared foods, and household items from Thursday through Saturday. The Pennsylvania Dutch presence is strong: shoofly pie, fastnachts, Lebanon bologna, and scrapple alongside more recent additions like Vietnamese banh mi and Caribbean rotis.
The market is the best single stop for understanding what the region grows and makes. The Lancaster County farmers selling from the stands inside have, in many cases, been coming here for generations. Saturday is the busiest day; Thursday is quieter and the produce is at its freshest. The Midtown neighbourhood around the market has good independent restaurants and coffee shops worth exploring before or after.