‘A long sad night’: Iconic farmers’ market in N.B. burns to the ground – New Brunswick

The legendary Green Pig Country Market in Salisbury, NB, burned to the ground on Monday night.

Located just outside of Moncton, the market has been part of many families’ traditions, from the sunflower festival to classic fall activities.

Owner Dawn Beckwith was putting her children to bed when she received a call that her shop was on fire.

Beckwith said the flames had reached the main building when she arrived Monday night. The next morning the Green Pig was destroyed.

Salisbury Mayor Robert Campbell said the community was devastated by the fire.

“Over the years it has become part of the social fabric of the community,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. “They are one of the economic backbones of this community.”

Green Pig Country Market has been a part of the community for more than 15 years, Campbell said, and has expanded and grown the business over time. In recent years, a café and a corn maze have been added. The market is also home to the New Brunswick Sunflower Festival, which returned this summer for the first time since the pandemic began

But for Campbell, it’s more than a country market; The Beckwiths, the owners, always give back to the community, he said.

The market’s Facebook page regularly advertises discounts when customers make donations to the local food bank. “From a food safety perspective, the Green Pig is doing a tremendous service to the region by providing not only food, but affordable food for our families,” said Campbell.

According to Campbell, the fire is still under investigation. He said they will be working with the owners to see what can be done to help them with the current crop, which is ready to harvest.

Since the fire, the Green Pig has received a lot of support online.

“I’ve seen videos about the Green Pig on TikTok,” Beckwith said. “I saw so many comments and messages so it was really sweet and really nice. We had no idea we were having that kind of effect on everyone, so it was really, really special.”

The store employs 60 people, she said, and she hopes to retain as many as possible. There’s a full harvest ahead, Beckwith said.

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“Any support goes straight back into the Green Pig and also straight back to our employees,” she said.

For Beckwith, the kindness and response has shown her how popular the farmers market is and so they will rebuild it.

“It’s sad for everyone, but Green Pig Grown, we’re going to come out on top,” she said.

A GoFundMe was set up early Tuesday afternoon to help Green Pig rebuild. It raised nearly $1,000 in its first hour and has now surpassed that amount.

Market caught fire

Campbell said firefighters received a call around 7:51 p.m. Monday night and encountered smoke near the Green Pig Country Market.

Firefighters, all volunteers, were doing training drills at the time and responded within minutes, Campbelll said. They quickly called on several neighboring departments to help fight the blaze.

Salisbury Fire Chief Bradley MacLeod said when they arrived at the scene the fire appeared to be coming from behind the main store.

70 firefighters were called to assist detachments arriving from Petitcodiac, Havelock, Elgin, Moncton and Riverview. There are no fire hydrants in the village and getting water to the scene is vital, he said.

According to MacLeod, there is a mutual aid agreement between several departments to help each other out in the event of a fire – for both water and manpower.

He said the fight was tough, as firefighters sometimes had to deploy more than twice the number of oxygen tanks they would have during an area fire.

According to MacLeod, no one was injured in the fire.

Social media has seen support for both the Green Pig and the fire service, but MacLeod said it was devastating not being able to save the iconic business.

“Ultimately, it’s sad to lose an iconic place like the Green Pig,” he said.

The market’s owners also posted several photos of the damage on Facebook.

“I’m not sure what to say… It’s been a long, sad night,” they wrote in part.

“It was really special to be a place to bring your family, meet friends and provide you with everything that we work so hard to grow.”

The owner said the market will come back “even better”.