"And this year," Gupta added, "over 40 merchants doing all-you-can-eat food and drink, and really highlighting the market at its best."
The turnaround for the party is brief — the market closes at 6 p.m. and the party starts at 7:30.
But with this being Reading Terminal, there will be no shortage of food and drinks.
"We're going to have Pearl's Oyster Bar. It will be 20 to 30 feet of raw bar. Martin's Meats is donating a full pig that we rotisserie. Bassetts, of course, is doing their ice cream," said Gupta. "We're going to have specialty cocktails, craft beers from around the region."
The party raises about $250,000 in one night, which is more than half of the market's annual capital budget.
"Last year, we hit 7.3 million visitors," he added — not bad for a 126-year-old building.