The Durham Farmers’ Market will not open Saturday morning following objections from city officials.

Vendors were planning to open following state Department of Health and Human Services guidance that clarified part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s order banning gatherings of 50 people or more and classified farmers markets as grocery stores, N.C. Policy Watch has reported.

The State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh, the largest in the area, will be open Saturday. Markets in Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Wake Forest have also said they will open with measures to mitigate risks of spreading the coronavirus.

On Friday morning Durham market manager Susan Sink emailed Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson saying the farmers’ market planned to open with limited vendors spaced 20 feet apart, among other measures. She asked how to get the event’s permit reinstated and whether some booths would be considered restaurants.

“Many of our vendors have decided to go alternative methods of delivery or set up on private lots so the market will be significantly condensed,” she wrote.

Ferguson responded with an email saying the market could not open.

“Mayor [Steve] Schewel remains steadfastly confident that preventing the farmers market from operating as requested is necessary to protect the public health, and consistent with other restrictions put in place by the Mayor’s Declaration of Emergency and endorsed by the Durham County Public Health Director,” the email stated.

“We understand the guidance from the State and do not reject it, but it does not override our authority to make this decision for a city-owned facility,” the letter said.

Durham declares state of emergency

On March 13, Schewel signed a Declaration of a State of Emergency that prohibits a group of 100 or more to congregate within a city-owned facility. On Thursday Schewel modified the declaration calling for gyms, fitness centers, health clubs, and theaters to cease operations by 5 p.m. Friday.

“If [the market] can design a pick up and delivery system much like our restaurants have . . . I’m certainly open to that so that those farmers can continue to make at least some living during this difficult time.,” Schewel said at a press conference outside City Hall on Friday.

Ferguson also wrote in his email that, while the city is “inundated with critical operational decisions right now, “it is willing to discuss suggestions “consistent with public safety going forward.“

The Durham Farmers’ Market operates year-round, with dozens of local farmers selling produce, flowers, eggs and cheese, along with bakeries selling bread and pastries and artisan selling crafts. Food trucks also line up, selling breakfast and lunch, drawing hundreds of people weekly to the city-owned Durham Central Park complex.

Sink said the city’s decision reflects a hard reality.

“It’s a really difficult situation,” Sink said. “Our number one priority is keeping people safe and if they’re saying it’s not going to be safe, we’re not going to have it.”

Durham held its Saturday market last week, with vendors spaced 10 feet apart. Images posted on the market’s Instagram account show, even with that spacing, customers still bunched together waiting in line.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services repeated in a news release Friday that farmers markets are considered grocery stores under the state’s guidelines. Here are the state-run markets and their hours.

▪ State Farmers Market, 1201 Agriculture St., Raleigh. Hours: Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

▪ WNC Farmers Market, 570 Brevard Road, Asheville. Open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

▪ Charlotte Regional Farmers Market, 1801 Yorkmont Road, Charlotte. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

▪ Robert G. Shaw Piedmont Triad Farmers Market, 2914 Sandy Ridge Road, Colfax. Open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Staff writer Dan Kane contributed to this story.

This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 2:19 PM.