Quincy Public Market open for ‘open air’ indoor seating

QUINCY — Launching the Quincy Public Market has been an ongoing challenge, owner Larry Jones said.

The market, which includes Jones’ classic cars, a bakery, clothing shop and more, reopened its indoor seating Jan. 18, after closing for two weeks due to COVID-19 restrictions. Now, it meets the state Department of Health’s open air dining requirements.

After first opening its doors in July 2019, Jones said, the place on F Street Southwest has battled the pandemic. Jacks, the market’s family restaurant, opened in August 2019, only to close within seven months. It hasn’t reopened since.

“It couldn’t have been any worse timing,” he said.

But Jacks is far from the only thing the market offers. A bakery, brewery, tasting room, coffee shop, clothing shop, antique shop, deli and more line the walls.

Tables and chairs – and classic cars – adorn the inside, much like a shopping mall food court, and came under scrutiny due to the pandemic restrictions, causing it to close.

But when a member of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board talked options for the market’s Jones of Washington Quincy Tasting Room, he mentioned the place might qualify for “open air dining.” This meant, aside from following all of the standard COVID-19 precautions, the overall air quality fell below the maximum of 450 carbon dioxide parts per million.

Now, Jones records the air quality four times per day with a digital air monitor, and indoor seating – for all but the restaurant – is back.

As one of the last remaining places to come and hang out, Jones has noticed a steady stream of people since it reopened seating.

“Now that we have things rearranged and have seating in here, people are just happy,” Jones said.

The winter sunshine filters through the high windows of the market’s wide open space. Lined up the center of colorful boutiques is a 1952 Jaguar, 1951 Bentley, 1959 El Camino, 1952 MG, 1965 Mustang and 1930 Ford Coupe.

Jones has 13 more classic cars off site, he said. Not only are they one of the market’s main attractions, they are what inspired the whole place.

Wanting a place to display his collection, he and his wife Janet started toying with the idea of creating something to resemble the Pybus Public Market in Wenatchee.

The market made a good addition to Quincy because the town had nothing like it, Janet said. A lot of people come from Moses Lake or Wenatchee to have lunch, too, because it’s in the middle.

Some of the market’s shops moved from around Quincy, Jones said. For instance, after Two Doors Down closed, the merchandise was repurposed in the market’s antique shop, Mix It Up.

Ancient Lakes Brewing Company began in a garage, Jones said. When it became popular enough, the brewers either had to make it legitimate or quit. So, they, too, found their home in the Quincy Public Market. With bars and tasting rooms closed, the brewery hasn’t been able to sell as many kegs. COVID-19 sped up the brewery’s canning and distribution schedule, Jones said.

Ancient Lakes offers 13 beers and is developing a couple more, he said. Next on the list is a lighter Mexican-style beer, similar to Corona or Pacifico.

Country Fresh Market is expanding, too, Jones said. Currently, it has several sandwiches, wraps, salads and soups on the menu, and they want to add pulled pork.

Next summer, Jones said he hopes to have a car show in the parking lot. The Quincy Public Market will continue growing as time goes on, too.

“We are proud of what we did,” Jones said. “Not so much for us, but for this town.”

Sam Fletcher can be reached at [email protected].