'Iconic' Salisbury market building a writeoff after fire, chief says

A community meeting place and popular spot for people stopping off the highway near Moncton was destroyed by fire Monday night.

The Green Pig Country Market in Salisbury was popular for its café and bakery, fresh produce, nodding sunflowers and intricate corn maze.

Rob Campbell, mayor of Salisbury, said the market is "part of the fabric of the community."

Speaking to Information Morning Moncton, Campbell called the Green Pig the "economic backbone for the community."

He cited the tens of thousands of people who attend the annual Sunflower Festival, make their way through the corn maze and bring their children to enjoy the play structures.

The parking lot was often jammed with vehicles as tourists pulled in for a break from the road, and local people stopped by to pick up a loaf of fresh bread or a pumpkin for display.

Campbell said Tuesday he's thankful no one was hurt.

The owners will be trying to get the business up and running again, he said, adding that recovery is important, especially since the business employs more than 40 people.

The Green Pig also has a farm attached. Since it's harvest season, Campbell said efforts are already underway to keep harvesting the crops and to sell them from trailers to make sure they don't go to waste.

"The owners are resilient and we will rise again," Campbell said.

Bradley McLeod, the Salisbury fire chief, said firefighters received a call about smoke in the area at around 7:50 p.m. Monday.

"As soon as we got up to the Green Pig and pulled up into the driveway, we could see that it had flames coming through the back," he said.

He said the fire started between a new addition at the back of the building and the building itself. He said the wind blew flames into the store, which caught fire.

The café and bakery were damaged by the flames, and the rest of the building has extensive smoke damage. On the outside, the building looks as if it's still up, but as soon as you walk in the front door, "everything is burned inside."

"It's probably going to be a total writeoff because of the smoke damage and a lot of the heat damage. … The fire got up to the attic space, so a lot of the trusses were burned," McLeod said.

The cause of the fire is not known.

"Last night Salisbury lost an iconic business," the fire department said in a social media post.

"We were joined by crews from Petitcodiac, Havelock, Elgin, Moncton and Riverview to fight this blaze. Everyone came together and worked flawlessly."