North Market Welcomes North Market Spices
North Market is proud to add another family-owned and operated venture to our portfolio of independent food and food-related businesses. We are proud to welcome North Market Spices, an undertaking by Ben Walters with the support of his parents Randy and Cindy.
The Walters family has always been fans of the North Market and as self-proclaimed foodies they love the selections the North Market has to offer. One Saturday afternoon while Ben and Randy were having lunch at the Market they noticed a vacant booth and proceed to discuss what type of business they hoped would fill the spot. As avid cooks, they frequently purchased raw ingredients from North Market merchants, but had to stop elsewhere for their spices. With that in mind Ben declared, “I hope they put a spice store in there!” Randy agreed that it was such a good idea that they should pursue it themselves and the two picked up an application. We agreed that a spice shop would be a great addition and North Market Spices will open in the northwest corner of the Market this August.
The mother and son team behind North Market spices brings their own experience and experiments with cooking and seasoning dishes to the table. When asked what favorite things the two like to cook Ben explains, “It depends on the season. In the summer it’s a lot of chicken and ribs using our own specially blended barbeque rub. We also enjoy making seafood paella. In the fall we like to smoke turkeys using different rubs. In the winter we enjoy traditional roasts and savory stews. In the spring our go-to dish tends to be lamb – we never make it the same way twice! You’ll always find us in the kitchen or by the grill trying a new dish. It’s amazing how trying a different spice or two can completely change the flavor of a dish.” There is no doubt that the Walters will have plenty of advice to offer about seasonings to complement dishes to be prepared by North Market shoppers.
North Market Spices will carry more than eighty varieties of top quality spices, herbs, blends and rubs from around the world with an ever-expanding line of products and discoveries. These will be offered in a space designed to represent a contemporary international market. The rich wood paneling and distressed wood is intended to be reminiscent of the crates that spices would have been shipped in by the East India Trading Company. With its broad range of aromatic offerings, North Market Spices will appeal to everyone from the casual cook to the chef extraordinaire. As ardent supporters of local businesses, they also hope to form partnerships and offer benefit to local restaurants with bulk purchasing options on spices.
The North Market looks forward to the opening of North Market Spices to round out its offerings. According to Executive Director, David Wible, “North Market Spices will fill an important niche for our shoppers. Now, in addition to the widest selection of the highest quality foods, Market visitors will have the opportunity to select from a wide variety of great spices, rubs, salts, seasonings and herbs.”
John and Sue Hard moved the production facility of CaJohns Fiery Foods to Westerville last month from the home of their former fire suppression business on the northeast side where they had operated for 13 years. Their newly renovated facility just off the highway gives them 11,000 square feet of space encompassing offices, a state of the art production kitchen and a warehouse. The roomy and well-laid-out new digs are key to facilitating the production of approximately 2,000 jars of salsa daily!
Within the walls of the unassuming facade are trophy cases holding some of the more than 350 awards that CaJohns has amassed throughout years of winning at fiery foods competitions across the nation. The impressive haul includes 48 Golden Chiles (awarded by 
Another case holds what looks to be more than 100 bottles of hot sauce including CaJohns original line of labels and bottles traded amongst industry folks as personal souvenirs. More bottles can be found on the shelves in CaJohns office, on his desk and generally “around”. Original artwork, commemorative posters and other memorablilia are slowly working their way onto the walls around the facility. Piles of other artwork lean against the walls waiting to be hung. One of these days the place will be an amazing gallery of fiery foods memorabilia as well!
During the month of April, Jim Siemer will usher in spring with unveiling his new painting titled “North Market in Spring.” Jim will also exhibit his various painting of Ohio scenes. Jim in honored to exhibit his watercolors at North Market because it his favorite destination in Columbus, Ohio.
Jim is a graduate of Bishop Ready High School, where he was first challenged by art teacher Sister Marie Miller to appreciate the wonders of art. Jim graduated from Ohio University, attended Columbus College of Art and Design and Maryland College of Art and Design. Jim has taken several watercolor classes in Ohio, Maryland and Virginia. Jim is a member of the Ohio Art league and a board member of Ohio Citizens for the Arts. Jim’s artwork are can be found in galleries and gift shops in the Lake Erie region and at the Ohio State House Gift shop.