Morgantown Market

We are not a grocery store!

The word market seems to confuse people. Market is an Old English and Latin term that means trading and trafficking. It is an open place of business where buyers and sellers convene for the sale of goods. Simple right?

Let me back up a couple of steps and explain. When I named the store I had a very long list of potential names and with the help of a friend settled on the name Morgantown Market. From the beginning the name was problematic. Older, traditional dealers felt antique should be in the name. But customers said if antique was in the name they would not come because they don’t shop in musty, dirty antique stores. I chose market because it covered all I wanted to sell, but after almost 3 years, it still continues to confuse people.

Every Christmas I still get the call, “Do you still have Weaver Hams or have you sold out?” I used to get mad and say, “We’re not that kind of market.” But this year I think the answer will be, “Sorry, order earlier next year.” When we first opened I had a gentleman come in looking for sanitary napkins for his wife. My poor son working the desk said, “Sorry we don’t carry those, but we have some linen napkins down the center aisle.” It brought some chuckles all around. Today I had a customer tell me again he thought we were a grocery store and that’s why he never stopped before. Instead of having a moment of name insecurity again I laughed it off and realized, “What’s in a name?” “That which we call a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.” Or “That which we call a market by any other name would still be my dream.”