Greg Dove, president of Levin Service Company, the parent company of Caesar Creek Markets, said progress is being made on the facility, which has seven buildings connected by a main aisle.
“One building is completely cleaned, and we’re starting to put studs up to rebuild the booths,” Dove said, adding that the remaining six buildings are at various stages of being stripped and cleaned.
Dove said the plan is to open each building for business once it is renovated, which is the same plan the company used in 2008 when the Treasure Aisles Flea Market in Monroe was destroyed by a fire. Dove said the first building is targeted to open in mid- to late-May.
“We have experienced contractors who know what the expectations are,” Dove said. “Deadlines mean something to me, and I don’t like to miss them, so we are really pushing forward.”
CCM has 130 vendors that occupy more than 500 booths inside the facility. All but three are taking advantage of free outdoor spaces while the building is being renovated, Dove said.
“For having gone through such a traumatic expereince, people are working hard and have been very cooperative,” Dove said. “Other than the cold weather, there have been no complaints.
“Customers are coming back, but there are probably some that don’t know we are open, and we are working hard on the marketing side to make that known.”
Dove estimated attendance has been at almost normal levels of 3,500 to 7,000 a day for this time of year.
Dove also said he is expecting to have the entire facility reopened somewhere between mid-August and mid-September, although it is hard to put a firm date down just yet.
This year is the 30th anniversary of when Levin Service Company purchased CCM, and Dove said plans are being made to have a big kickoff event later in the summer.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or Skip.Weaver@coxinc.com.
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