Kouris Warehouse (Farmers Market) Photos courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

The Kouris Warehouse, now housing Shelby's popular Farmers Market, was built in the early 1930s as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market with a refrigerated basement. It reflects a time when Shelby's economy was based on the agricultural production of Cleveland County's farmers. The two-story brick warehouse with Colonial Revival details may have been designed by the local architectural firm of V.W. Breeze, who designed many commercial and institutional buildings in Shelby during this period including Shelby City Hall and Shelby High School. The essentially utilitarian design of the Kouris Warehouse is broken up by large 12 over 12 sash windows with 6 light transoms. Accent blocks are used to define the corners of the windows and the decorative soldier-course lintels above the windows. A plate glass window with transom demarcates an office at the southeast corner of the building. Produce and other goods were brought into the building through the freight doors on the east side of the building that face the railroad tracks.

Interior view of the Farmers Market Photo courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

By the 1950s, the warehouse was being used by Morgan & Company, a wholesaler and retailer of feed, seed, insecticides and fertilizer. On June 14, 1980, the building was opened as a Farmers Market, owned and managed by the City of Shelby. This market has "been a colorful social center where people from town and country come together in a festive atmosphere to trade gossip and enjoy each other's company as well as exchange products" as stated by a former editor of the Shelby Star. The market is the only known year-round indoor city-owned and operated farmers market in North Carolina.

The Kouris Warehouse (Farmers Market) is located at 200 W. Warren St. in the Central Shelby Historic District. The market boasts a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and meat, and also includes a restaurant and handmade crafts. It is open Tuesday-Saturday year round, 7:00am to 5:30pm.