Mama Lina moving on from her produce stand after 60 years at Seattle's Pike Place Market
SEATTLE - On a Saturday at Pike Place Market, you can expect to find a few constants: the crowds of people, the seafood and flowers on display and if you head to the main arcade of the market at stand number seven, you can expect to find Lina Constantino better known as "Mama Lina."
"Eighty-four years old and I’m still here, thank you Lord," Constantino said. For more than 60 years, Mama Lina and the fruits of her labor have been at this very produce stand. She started working there at the age of 23.
Born in the Philippines, she had an arranged marriage. Her husband brought her to Seattle, where she started working at the produce stand. Over the years, she was able to work and save and bring her family from the Philippines to the United States. She told FOX 13, he died in 1980, and she’s been running the stand ever since, with her son Donnie by her side, but that’ll soon change.
![](https://images.foxtv.com/static.q13fox.com/www.q13fox.com/content/uploads/2024/06/932/524/mama-lina.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Lina Constantino, better known as "Mama Lina."
"My family said retire now," Constantino said. "[They said] Go have some fun and I said, ‘what kind of fun, I have fun at the market.’"
Her favorite part? Helping customers and telling jokes.
She also loves Elvis. Behind the produce, you can find her love for the music icon on full display. "He’s a very good-looking guy," Constantino said. For her 84th birthday this year, she was surprised with a Filipino Elvis.
Another memory, Mama Lina can now add to her collection of memories, as she gets ready to plant some new seeds.
"I’m okay, as long as I can stand up, I work," she said. "But my family worry about me all the time." While she said she’s not retiring, just moving on from produce.
After more than 60 years, stand number seven will look a lot different without the constant of Mama Lina.
Her son told FOX 13, their last day at the stand is Sunday, June 30.
Mama Lina told FOX 13, she plans to have a different stand in the area, but it won’t be produce.
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