LYNN — The Lynnway Mart Indoor Mall & Flea Market is going out of business and will not reopen, said longtime owner Patrick McGrath.
The flea market has been closed for more than three months due to COVID-19 restrictions, said McGrath.
“After exhausting all reopening options and receiving a recommendation from the City of Lynn Board of Health to only offer curbside pickup for the foreseeable future, it was determined that opening at full capacity would not be possible anytime soon,” McGrath wrote in a notice to market vendors.
“With the restrictions for occupancy and operation guidelines, we are forced to close the Lynnway Mart.”
With about 200 vendors and more than three acres of rental space, the Lynnway Mart, located at 800-810 Lynnway, is among New England’s largest indoor malls.
McGrath has owned the property for 13 years, but said the market has been around for more than three decades. He said it was a difficult decision to close, but the COVID-19 guidelines would make it “virtually impossible” to reopen.
“This is our busiest time of the year,” said McGrath. “We didn’t have any other choice. We’ve tried to open up. They said no, they said we could do curbside pickup. That (doesn’t) work in that type of business. If we can’t open up 100 percent, there’s no way we could open up.”
McGrath said 200 vendors will be required to start moving their businesses off of the property next Monday. All vendors who have their addresses on file were notified about the closure late last week, McGrath said, and his team is trying to track down other vendors who have been impacted.
McGrath said his team is in touch with Christopher Bibby, of Bibby Real Estate Corp., who will be at the Lynnway Mart property Monday to speak with displaced vendors about vacancies in Lynn that may be viable options for their businesses.
Business cards and flyers with relevant information will be handed out during the visit, McGrath said.
“There’s thousands of people affected here,” said McGrath. “These people, they’re hurting. They’re going crazy.”
McGrath said he has no immediate plans for the property.
