On Saturday mornings, vendor tents go up under the water tower at 230 Franklin Road. Farmers set out produce, meats and baked goods, and specialty food makers set up beside them. Admission is free, parking is free, and the market runs in any weather. That market is the Factory Farmers Market, and it is new. It opened on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, as a curated, year-round market at the front entrance to The Factory at Franklin, under the water tower plaza, according to the Williamson Herald.
The Herald describes the new market as continuing The Factory's Saturday farmers market tradition. Meanwhile, the nonprofit Franklin Farmers Market now lists a new home at Franklin First United Methodist Church, 120 Aldersgate Way. It still runs Saturdays year-round from 8 a.m. to noon.
The market is one of several things The Factory now does for itself. The campus runs its own Saturday market, tells its own industrial history in a museum, and fills its own holiday calendar. Its next big project is a hotel built inside two of its original buildings. This holiday season is the clearest look yet at The Factory as a destination in its own right.
A Saturday Market Run by Its Own Owner
The Factory Farmers Market has its own owner. Diane Kolopanas told the Williamson Herald that "continuing the Saturday farmers market tradition is a natural fit" and described the market as "intentionally curated to support local farmers and food makers."
That gives Franklin two year-round Saturday markets, one under the water tower and one on Aldersgate Way. Before you go, check the hours on the Factory Farmers Market page.
Many shoppers will walk from the market straight into the campus, and the first new stop is about the campus itself.
Building 8 Now Explains the Rest of the Campus
The Factory Museum opened to the public on April 22, 2026, after running guided tours since early April, FranklinIs reported. It sits in Building 8, next to Fork of the South General Store.
The first exhibit covers manufacturing on the site from 1929 until production ended in the early 1990s. It moves through Allen Manufacturing, Dortch Stove Works, Magic Chef and Jamison Bedding, with stoves, furnaces, historic photos and vintage advertising. Admission is free, no reservation is needed, and a self-guided visit takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
That's short enough to fit between the market and lunch. The exhibit also explains the buildings around it. The brick halls that now hold shops, restaurants and a music venue were built to make stoves and mattresses. That history also shapes the hotel plan described below, which leans on the Jamison bedding story.
The Storefronts That Arrived in 2026
Two retailers picked The Factory this year, and both moved into buildings the campus already had.
- Anthropologie, Anthropologie Weddings and Terrain held their grand opening on Aug. 14, 2026, in the former MAFIAoza's building facing Franklin Road, Williamson Source reported. Terrain, the brand's garden and home shop, opened its first Tennessee location here.
- Zula & Mac Interiors and Boutique opened its second Franklin shop at The Factory by late October, The Factory announced on Oct. 29. Owner Pam Hood is keeping the original downtown Franklin store open.
The Zula & Mac move shows how The Factory now works. A shop with an established downtown following added a second location on the campus and kept its first. Holiday shoppers now have a reason to cover both ends of Franklin Road.
Liberty Hall Carries the Holiday Calendar
The busiest part of the campus between now and New Year's is Liberty Hall, with Turner Theater close behind. The 2026 season, in date order:
- The Dolly Art Wall, through Jan. 31, 2027. Work by local artists celebrating Dolly Parton hangs in Liberty Hall, and every piece is for sale.
- The 12th annual MADE SOUTH Holiday Market, Nov. 20 and 21. More than 60 makers and artisans from across the South fill Liberty Hall. Friday, Nov. 20, is a 21-and-over VIP night from 5 to 9 p.m. It includes early shopping, cocktails made with Dread River Distilling spirits, three chef tastings and live music. Saturday, Nov. 21, runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for all ages, with Santa there for photos. The first 300 guests through the gate get a free reusable tote, and an afternoon ticket lets you in from 1 p.m. on. Event details are on The Factory's site. According to the ticket page, children 13 and under get in free on Saturday. You can buy Saturday tickets at the door, but not Friday tickets.
- Studio Tenn's It's A Wonderful Life, Dec. 3 to 20, at Turner Theater. Studio Tenn lists tickets from $30 and recommends the show for ages 12 and up. It also lists an ASL-interpreted performance on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m., a talk-back after the Dec. 13 matinee at 1 p.m., and a sensory-friendly performance on Dec. 19 at 2 p.m.
- A Franklin Christmas with Steven Curtis Chapman & Friends, Monday, Dec. 14. The concert runs from 7 to 9 p.m. in Liberty Hall, with doors at 6:15 p.m., and benefits the Circle of Giving. Event details are on The Factory's site, and tickets on Eventbrite start at $54.64.
Every Saturday of the season also opens with the Factory Farmers Market under the water tower. You could easily spend a whole December Saturday on campus, with the market in the morning, the museum before lunch, a matinee at Turner Theater, and an hour at the Dolly Art Wall.
Buildings 9 and 10 Are Next
The Factory's own campus map already labels Buildings 9 and 10 "Future Factory Hotel." The project is The Factory Hotel, a 120-room boutique hotel planned as a Tribute Portfolio property within Marriott Bonvoy. According to the Williamson Herald, groundbreaking is expected in late 2026 and opening in spring 2028. Building 10 will become the hotel's main lobby, and Building 9 will become a pool courtyard. The plans also call for event and meeting space, a full-service restaurant and bar, a private dining room and a fitness center.
The museum's history lines up with this plan. The Herald's announcement describes the hotel as a way to "deepen The Factory's connection to its roots as a Jamison bedding factory." Allen Arender, The Factory's Chief Development Officer, told the paper:
"We're creating a place where guests can fully experience the energy, history, and hospitality that make Franklin so special. By thoughtfully integrating the hotel and more convenient parking spaces, we're honoring the campus legacy while adding a new way for visitors to stay, gather, and connect for years to come."
Arender's firm, Holladay Properties, bought The Factory in October 2021 and started its first renovation phase in June 2022. The city approved the hotel in spring 2025. Williamson Source reported that the rezoning passed unanimously on April 8, 2025, and the revised development plan passed its third reading on April 22, 2025.
Parking is the change regular visitors will notice most. At approval, Williamson Source reported 923 parking spaces on campus and a plan for 1,066, including a 250-space garage. The Factory's announcement puts the finished total at almost 1,100 spaces. It says the plan will double the number of spaces closest to the entrances and add two-hour parking areas for quick visits to eat, shop or run an errand. The Factory says it will share more details as construction moves forward.
If the late-2026 groundbreaking and spring 2028 opening hold, this season's MADE SOUTH weekend, Studio Tenn run and December market Saturdays will likely be the last before hotel construction is underway on campus.
Here at Eddie Ferrell, we follow projects like The Factory Hotel because new uses in old buildings change how a part of town feels day to day. If you'd like to talk through what this kind of change means near Franklin Road, Let's Connect.
