As mentioned in the previous installment of this series, Eastern Market draws a quarter of its business from the surrounding neighborhood. According to Smith, this relationship with the East—and specifically Southeast—sections of Lancaster City lies at the heart of the Market’s very existence. Increasing neighborhood involvement is Eastern Market’s top priority: “I think, generally, it’s a neighborhood that doesn’t necessarily shop at Central Market, so there’s potential for us to tap into an entirely different population,” Smith said.

Strolling East from Central Market, one will observe the towering Marriott Hotel on the right, followed by the courthouse on the left, and, a little further, the Demuth Tobacco Shop on the right. Many would assume this end of all “viable” destinations East of Penn Square. But, since 2006, the Historic Eastern Market at 308 East King Street has been working to prove that assumption wrong.