SOLEBURY TWP., Pa. – An iconic market offering “a unique and eclectic bargain shopping experience” is set to end operations later this year in Bucks County.
Rice’s Market, a 30-acre indoor and outdoor market offering a wide array of goods, will hold its last day of operation on Dec. 29 at 6326 Greenhill Road in Solebury Township, according to an online announcement.
The market will continue on its usual schedule, operating 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays through Dec. 29, with additional hours on Black Friday.
Rice’s, located a few miles west of New Hope, traces its origins to 1860, when A.L. Rice settled on a Solebury Township farm – now the site of Rice’s Market – and began auctioning his products, as well as his neighbors’ products, at various times during the year, according to a historical account on the market’s website.
“After over a hundred years of being part of this community, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors at the end of the year,” reads the announcement on the market’s Facebook page.
“Over the years, Rice’s became so much more than just a place to buy and sell. This has been an incubator for side hustles and small businesses, a staple in shopping adventures and for better or worse long traffic lines that were part of the experience for so many years. Some vendors stayed for a season, some for decades, and many grew from a small table or booth here into thriving businesses of their own.”
From March to December, Rice’s Market attracts more than 400 vendors and 8,000 shoppers each week, according to the business’ website.
The venue serves as a “flea market, farmer’s market, antique bazaar, vintage thrift, town gathering space, and food lover’s delight wrapped into one.”
Rice’s showcases hundreds of well-known antique dealers, community artists, beauty consultants, clothing boutiques, local farmers and more.
“The market and economy changed over the last few years but the golden years of before sunrise Tuesdays, Saturdays and the great chaos that was a Black Friday will never be forgotten,” the online announcement continues.
“Porkroll, egg and cheese sandwiches on a perfect Kaiser roll, the echo of ‘Pretzels… Fresh squeezed lemonade!’ throughout the market and so many high school kids' first job selling sodas out of coolers will be a core memory of the 90s and early 2000s.”
The Rice’s Market team thanked the vendors, employees and community “for showing up, rain or shine, heat wave or bitter cold, for all these years.”
“As our doors close, we hope you will remember to keep choosing small; Find the local business and buy from them, stop at the farm stand, visit the independent shop, hire the person who turned their hobby into a business,” the online announcement continues.
“Thank you for the memories, the friendships, the businesses built, and the decades of support.”