While Madison Public market CEO Keisha Harrison told the Wisconsin State Journal that the new market may open in June or July, nothing is set in stone.
The market has experienced numerous delays over the years, but the plan is to open in the summer.
The Public Market was a grassroots project started in 2003 by a cooperative of Wisconsin farmers. A site for the market was selected by 2014, but the city’s designs for it would not be released for another five years.
While millions of dollars in city funding would ultimately be allocated toward the market — paired with funding from Wisconsin’s Neighborhood Investment program — hardships stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in that city funding and higher-than-expected construction costs caused delays. Construction officially began in November 2023.
The market’s opening date was changed repeatedly. In July 2025, needed lease finalization and building improvements to meet public health standards for food vendors pushed the opening date to early 2026.
