Spokane MarketPlace will cease operations Feb. 23

The board that runs the Spokane MarketPlace will close down the market’s operations on Feb. 23, a spokesman for the group said.

The nonprofit arts-and-crafts market has been at its current site, at 809 N. Washington, for nearly two years. In that time, the number of vendors has shrunk from about 25 to around 10, said Lenny Munguia, a former board member of the MarketPlace.

The market is open to shoppers on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It first opened in 1991 and has moved several times.

Munguia, who has served as an adviser to the board in recent months, said vendors generally believed the current building was hard to find and didn’t have inexpensive parking nearby for shoppers.

The building, on the north edge of Riverfront Park, is run by the Spokane Parks Board.

Munguia said the current board dissolved last week and hasn’t indicated whether an attempt will be made to resurrect the MarketPlace somewhere else.

A separate Spokane Farmers’ Market is operated by another area nonprofit group between May and October. It sells mostly produce on Second Avenue between Browne and Division streets.