A rich part of York's social and historic tradition is the tri-weekly Central Market. "Market Day" was originally established by the PA legislature as far back as the late 17th century. York's Central Market is housed in an enormous and beautiful century-old market house downtown. Beneath lovely fifty foot high wooden rafters, about seventy vendor stands grace the market floor which is supervised by an old fashioned "market master." Stands are run by local and longstanding family farms (often of the Mennonite order) selling fresh grown produce, poultry, meats, baked goods, etc. The market retains its old-fashioned flavor even with its newer additions of ethnic stands, offering Thai, Middle Eastern, and Spanish treats. Utz's Potato Chip stand serves hand-packed bags of fresh potato chips made down the road in nearby Hanover, PA. Stands often offer a smattering of homemade 'Pennsylvania Dutch' standbys: whoopie pies, hog maw, tripe, pot pie, pickled eggs, fastnachts, sugar cakes, etc. For produce, head to the Fitz's stand (I served a short stint as a Fitz farm strawberry picker one summer). For meats and poultry (and definitely the Thanksgiving turkey) try Myer's Meats or Twin Pine Farms. Serving excellent made to order french fries is the ubiquitous Bricker's Fries.
The market is open year round on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 6am to 3pm. Telephone 717-848-2243. On Saturdays, parking is free in the garage across the street on Philadelphia St. The Heritage Bike Trail starts right down the street! (In addition to getting a great and inexpensive picnic lunch here, you can also rent a bike in the Market Annex!)