In 2020 and early 2021, the Peale participated in the Lexington Market Public History Initiative in an effort to collect stories and memories about the world-famous Lexington Market as the market itself prepared for a redesign and reopening. The initiative’s core partners were Baltimore Heritage, Baltimore Public Markets Corporation, Lexington Market, Inc., Market Center Community Development Corporation, Seawall, and the Peale, and the work was partially enabled by a Pathways Grant from the Maryland Center for History and Culture. The Lexington Market Public History Initiative was financed in part by the Maryland Center for History and Culture’s Thomas V. “Mike” Miller History Fund. This story was recorded by Adam Droneburg, Dan Goodrich, Nicole King and others of the Baltimore Sound Society for an earlier project.

Larry Brenner: I am Larry Brenner. I'm the owner of Konstant's Foods. We own and operate four stalls in Lexington Market. The lunch stall, it sells hot dogs, soups, and coffee. The candy stall, which sells lots of different kinds of old-fashioned candy as well as homemade fudge. Paul's Bar-B-Q that sells barbecue sandwiches and ribs. And the ever famous peanut store that sells peanuts.

Larry Brenner: The Konstant's started as candy people in 1896. Nick was the fourth generation. He ran this business after his father got sick for 33 years. He was ready to get out, and I bought the business in 2008. Yeah, there's a book on Lexington Market, and Konstant's are a part in it because they're an original founder. In fact, one of the reasons we kind of have prime real estate is because they helped finance the building of this building back in the '50s when it burned down.

Larry Brenner: But we started as candy people. And when I bought the business, there was all this shuttled candy-making equipment. You had a chocolate table, where you pour chocolate and make candies. We had two huge double boilers, which I don't know exactly what they would have used them for but probably for making chocolate and things of that nature. They also had sausage-making equipment down there. They made their own sausage back in the day.

Larry Brenner: So they started that business, had a candy stall, made almost all the candy. Probably all the candy they sold at first was made by them. In fact, I have a press downstairs that was originally used to make Swedish Fish. So I have a Swedish Fish press, I can't use it, and I wouldn't use it. But it's just interesting, it tells you how far back it goes.

Larry Brenner: And then, I guess, I don't really know how they expanded into the other opportunities that they did. It's a little before my time. Okay, it's a lot before my time. But this is... The three stalls, the peanuts, candy, and the lunch have been here forever since the '50s, with very little change except the changes I've brought in, added some food products, changed the candy selection a little bit. I opened the barbecue stand because I was trying to find a use for that stand. So that's my go.

Larry Brenner: Okay, so my favorite things, we make a crab chowder at the barbecue stand that's the world's best soup. That's really good. It is my fave. When we have it, I eat it. I'm not a candy guy, so I can't really opine on that. And the hot dog business, I always feel sorry for people who come here and get a hot dog without the chili. It just... I feel sorry for them.

Larry Brenner: But I like a hot dog. I like a, what we would call a kosher hold-the-mustard, which would be a kosher hot dog with onions and chili. It's a good bite. It's a good bite. We still make our living out of selling peanuts, hot dogs, and coffee. I brought in homemade soups. We had no soups before. I make all the fudge fresh.

Asset ID: 2021.01.11.b

Photo of Lexington Market, ca. 1903, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print