BOSTON — It was meant to be Boston’s pride — a gleaming food hall celebrating the best of New England produce.
Ten years and millions of taxpayer dollars later, the Boston Public Market is still bleeding cash.

According to a report by The Boston Globe, the state-backed market — set up rent-free in a government-owned building on the Rose Kennedy Greenway — lost nearly half a million dollars last year despite receiving more than $1 million in state subsidies over the past two years.

Vendor sales remain 20 percent below pre-pandemic levels, foot traffic is down by nearly a third, and longtime chief executive Cheryl Cronin is stepping down at year’s end. One exasperated vendor told the paper: “I know the market is on a mission. I don’t know what it is.”

Opened in 2015 with a promise to showcase food “grown, raised, or caught in New England,” the market’s strict local-only rules soon softened — lemons appeared, out-of-state ingredients slipped in, and more non-food vendors set up shop. What began as a farmers’ showcase has turned into a taxpayer-funded boutique food court that can’t balance its books.

Free rent, big losses

The losses come even though the market pays no rent and sits in a prime downtown location packed with other grocery options. It was never built to serve a “food desert” — it was a prestige project designed to show government could run retail better than the private sector.

Sound familiar? It’s the same “public grocery” model now being championed by progressives like New York’s socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Massachusetts tried it first — and taxpayers are still footing the bill.

Mayor Michelle Wu, meanwhile, is pushing her own “food justice” agenda at City Hall, expanding programs and offices tied to publicly funded food access. The Boston Public Market wasn’t about affordability or equity — it was about control. And a decade later, it’s still losing money.

Taxpayers still paying the price

The Globe found the market posted a $465,657 loss in 2024 despite rent-free space and years of public funding. Federal filings show $2.73 million in revenue against $3.39 million in expenses for 2023 — a deficit of $661,682 — while the CEO earned $275,000 that year. The group’s 2024 report lists a $1 million grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism to keep it afloat.

Critics say the market has become a monument to political vanity — proof that good intentions and taxpayer money don’t always mix.

The bottom line

Boston doesn’t need another government grocery store. It already has one — and it’s failing miserably.

Boston Public Market by the numbers

(Source: The Boston Globe & IRS Form 990)

• Opened: 2015
• Location: Parcel 7 Garage, Rose Kennedy Greenway
• Ownership: State-owned building operated rent-free by a nonprofit
• 2024 Loss: $465,657
• State Aid (2023–2025): $1 million
• 2023 Revenue: $2.73 million
• 2023 Expenses: $3.39 million
• CEO Compensation: $275,000
• Foot Traffic: Down 30% from 2019
• Vendor Sales: 80% of pre-pandemic levels