Findlay Market honors longest-serving employee

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Findlay Market is celebrating the 20-year work anniversary of their longest-serving employee.

Ebb Cooper has been a member of the maintenance team for the past two decades.

He's become beloved among coworkers, merchants, and shoppers.

"Findlay Market has been so good to me. Whenever I've been going through something, they were going through it alongside me," Cooper said.

He's known for his positive attitude and infectious smile.

"Ebb Cooper is Findlay Market. He exemplifies the goodness and the magic that makes this place special - he is kind, hardworking, welcoming, positive and genuine," said Kelly Lanser, Findlay Market's president and chief executive officer.

"Many of our shoppers have routines. They get their meats, then cheeses, then desserts. The funny part is, many of them also include Ebb in that routine. A trip to the market means looking forward to a conversation with Ebb and counting on a smile from him as he asks you how you are doing. He is loved and respected by Merchants, neighbors and his fellow team and he deserves all of the recognition for what he has given to Findlay Market over the last 20 years."

The work of the Findlay Market Maintenance Team is boundless.

They install and tend to the flower boxes that grace the historic buildings surrounding the market.

They are instrumental in helping set up and tear down for special events, hanging Christmas lights during the holidays (one of Ebb's personal favorite annual tasks), and making sure Findlay Market is safe, clean and beautiful for all to enjoy.

But, most of all, they are ambassadors of the market, greeting guests, pointing them in the right direction, and putting a smile on their faces daily.

In celebration of this milestone, Findlay Market is welcoming the public to celebrate Ebb's anniversary at a happy hour at Jane's from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Jane's is located at 1801 Race Street.

Findlay Market is Ohio's oldest continuously operated public market and one of Cincinnati's most cherished institutions, welcoming more than one million visitors each year.

Located just blocks from downtown in Over-the-Rhine, a dense historic neighborhood rich in 19th-century architecture, Findlay Market remains the bustling center of farm fresh, locally sourced, artisanal and specialty foods.

Open Tuesday through Sunday year-round, Findlay Market is home to more than 50 full-time merchants selling meat, fish, poultry, produce, flowers, cheese, deli, ethnic foods and more.

On weekends, it also hosts a thriving Farmers Market, a vibrant outdoor market, several street performers and several special events.