Lexington Market Place will keep its doors open until 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5. It will be one of several local businesses set to do so, on the first Friday of each month, as part of the First Friday initiative.
Over the years, downtown Lexington has shifted from a stop-and-shop town to a community many simply drive through.
But local business owners want the charm that Main Street once had to return — and that effort begins this week with First Friday.
“It’s a quiet county, but it needs to move forward,” said Gina Holloway, co-proprietor of Lexington Market Place and member of the Lexington Downtown Development Authority Board. “I’m trying to help get people to come to Lexington. It’s full of history, and it just deserves more.”
Lexington Market Place, the first business participating this Friday, features an art gallery, a DIY workshop space, an antique shop and its newest addition — an area for local vendors to set up booths of their own.
Community members can explore all four of these areas after hours, while socializing and enjoying drinks.
Linda Parish, co-proprietor of Lexington Market Place and member of the DDA, hopes the extended time will encourage those who can’t explore the downtown areas during normal store hours.
“People who work don’t have a chance to come and shop a lot of times,” Parish said. “You get off at 5 o’clock and everything is closed.”
Parish said many of her customers are Georgia football fans who drive through Lexington for games and return later to explore the shops.
“You get all that ballgame traffic, but all they want is the three B’s — barbecue, boiled peanuts and a bathroom,” Parish said. “But I get residual from that because the wives will see the shops and the husbands won’t stop, so they’ll come back later with a group.”
Parish began hosting First Friday in 2012, when there were eight retail businesses and three restaurants. All of the stores would stay open late and the community would come together to shop, drink and chat with other residents.
Throughout the years, a majority of these shops have closed.
“Lexington seemed to be growing, and then all of a sudden, it just kind of dwindled off again,” Holloway said.
Community Cigar, which is around the corner from Lexington Market Place, revived First Friday five years ago as a place for locals to gather, smoke cigars, drink beverages and catch up with one another.
Last January, Parish and Holloway decided to join Community Cigar in the effort to increase community involvement in Lexington.
“We decided to piggyback on that,” Parish said. “I told (Glynn Seagers, owner of Community Cigar), ‘Tell the men to bring their wives, and they can come shop, and we’ll give them some wine.’”
Parish and Holloway put a pause on the event during the summer, but now they’re ready to bring it back with the new twist of local vendors joining in on the action.
Lexington Market Place is anticipating 2-3 vendors this Friday, with hopes of expanding to 20-30. Southern Attitude, a boutique in Crawford, is set to open a booth in mid-September.
“Just come and see what we’re doing,” Parish said. “And we’ll feed you and give you something to drink.”