A Note From Dave

Dear North Market Shopper,

As we look to 2011, I believe that the Market is in the best shape ever.

The growing awareness to support local businesses and local economies coupled with the movement to eat locally puts North Market in the “sweet spot” of emerging trends.

In late 2010, we added two exciting new businesses and as we open 2011 we have two more that are equally great.

North Market Spices and their broad selection of unique spices and spice blends has been an instant hit. With a knowledgeable staff, they are the perfect complement to the terrific selection of fresh ingredients the Market has to offer.

Read the rest of Dave’s note here⇒ 

Fiery Foods Weekend

The North Market has been bringing the heat to dreary Ohio winters for the past seven years with our annual Fiery Foods Festival. Folks just can’t get enough of the fire when it’s February in Central Ohio, so this year we’re hosting a whole Fiery Foods Weekend! Melt away the mid-winter monotony at the North Market Fiery Foods Weekend on February 19th and 20th. From special vendors to fiery foods cooking and eating contests, plus kids activities and live music, there’s mild to wild fun to be had at the North Market Fiery Foods Weekend!  

Special fiery foods vendors for the weekend include: Aimee’s Blue Ribbon Spices, Black Swamp Gourmet, CaJohns Flavor & Fire, Chuck Evans’ Montezuma Brand, Crazy Uncle Jester’s Inferno World, Dragonfire Foods, Happy Trails! Chili Company, Heartbreaking Dawns, Mudflats Brands, Ole Ray’s Sauces, Race City Sauceworks and Urban Chefs. 

For a full schedule of Fiery Foods Weekend activities click here⇒ 

Speaking of Fiery Foods…North Market Vendors Excel at ZestFest!

John Hard (aka, CaJohn of CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire) attended the 7th annual ZestFest* in San Antonio last month and brought home FOURTEEN Golden Chile awards (1st place), as well as eight 2nd place and six 3rd place trophies. Pam’s Market Popcorn also scored a Golden Chile in the Salty Snacks category with her Southwest Shazam Popcorn. Congratulations to John and Pam for their exceptional spicy foods!

For the full list of CaJohn’s winnings click here⇒. And by all means come try the winning products in person during our Fiery Foods Weekend!

North Market open until 7PM on Valentine’s Day, Monday, February 14

Here ye, here ye all Valentine’s Day procrastinators! The North Market will be open until 7PM this coming Monday, February 14, which is, of course, Valentine’s Day. You have all day and into the early evening to drop in and pick up flowers, chocolate, wine, a card and/or the makings for your homemade Valentine’s dinner to woo your love. Most, but not all of our merchants will be here, but those you need to fulfill your Valentine’s presents will!

Valentine’s Dinner prepared by Chef Rocco G. Valentino of Pastaria

Impress your loved one with a five-course mealed prepared specially for you by Chef Rocco Valentino to pick up and enjoy in the comfort of your home. If you hide the boxes you can even pretend that you did all of the hard work yourself!

First course: Sauteed Feta Cheese with honey, pine nuts, raisins and basil.

Second course: Lentil and Vegetable Puree with tomato chutney crostini.

Third course: Classic Caesar Salad served in a parmesan basket.

Fourth course: Grilled Asparagus Lasagna with vodka sauce (vegetarian option); Potato-crusted Pacific Cod with champagne vinaigrette and melted leek compote (fish option); Seared Filet of Beer with Valentino sauce, gorgonzola cheese, French fingerling potatoes and spinach souffle (beef option).

Dessert: Creme Puff Couple, one filled with vanilla and one filled with chocolate.

This dinner for two is available for $65 from Pastaria. To include a bottle of wine from The Barrel and Bottle the cost is $85 and includes a choice of either the Piacere Pinot Grigio or a Fattoria Montellori Chianti.

Please place your order by noon on Saturday, February 12 by calling Pastaria at (614) 228-2850. Pick up is available from 11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Monday, February 14.

Participating Farms:

Anderson Orchard  I will have free range antibiotic-free brats, sausage, bacon and smoked tenderloin.

Elizabeth Telling Farm CSA pickup only.

Persinger Farm  I will be bringing broccoli, sweet potatoes, red onions, red skin potatoes, pumpkins, squash and zucchini.

 

Rhoads Farm Market  We will have Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, Christmas trees and wreaths. A greater variety of wreaths and trees will be available in season. For more information about our Christmas trees please visit www.rhoadsfarmmarket.com.

 

Thomas Family Orchard We will have 14 varieties of apples this week as well as apple cider.

 

Toad Hill Farm  

 

The Wayward Seed Farm  We will have greens, turnips and winter radishes.

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Coming soon to the North Market

The North Market is pleased to welcome a trio of new businesses that round out our merchant mix and put our occupancy at capacity:

The Barrel and Bottle  Jen Burton and Collin Castore will soon open a new beer and wine shop in the North Market. They will feature more than 300 imported and domestic wines, international and craft beers and a tap station for filling growlers of craft beer from kegs. Take a peek into the shop to check out the ongoing renovation!

Clever Crow Pizza  Gary Robinette and wife Brooke Howell-Robinette will be turning out their hearty cornmeal crust pizzas that were featured in the Travel Channel show, No Reservations. The couple also smokes and cures their own meats and pickles and cures local vegetables for toppings on the pizzas which will be available for dine-in, carryout or take-and-bake one day soon!

Brêzel   Maria Gentile and Brittany Baum have been selling their scrumptious Bavarian-style pretzels at farmers markets and events for the past year while they sought a permanent home…and now they have one on the south aisle of the North Market between Omega Artisan Baking and Clever Crow Pizza! Look for the ladies to open with their hand-rolled pretzels in mid to late December.

The North Market is an ever-evolving marketplace which has witnessed an array of businesses that come and go, move and expand, and mature and develop over the decades. As we prepare to welcome a new year we are pleased to announce some exciting new additions, changes in ownership and movement in stall space at the North Market. For starters, North Market welcomes The Barrel and Bottle and Clever Crow Pizza as brand new entries to our merchant mix. Meanwhile, Lac Viet Market has subtly morphed into Lan Viet Market with a new pair of owners. To top it off, Better Earth and Pam’s Market Popcorn are settled into new locations. Stop by the North Market to welcome our new merchants and greet your familiar favorites in their new digs!

Collin Castore and Jen Burton are co-proprietors of The Barrel and Bottle, a new wine and beer store in the North Market. The pair have been friends since junior high school and excited to embark on this new adventure. Jen is a familiar face around the North Market as she worked for Market Blooms for a number of years and most recently has been employed at Spagio Cellars. Collin has ample beer and wine knowledge as co-owner of Bodega in the Short North. The duo is in the process of completely overhauling the space, installing warm wood paneling in a herringbone pattern and ordering new fixtures. Once open they will stock 300 varieties of artisanal imported and domestically produced wines, domestic craft beer, select imported beer and accessories.

One of the interesting services that The Barrel and Bottle will offer is a “green jug” program. One tap cooler will host a rotation of three seasonal kegs which will be available to fill reusable 64 oz. growlers enabling customers to try a wide array of unique craft beer. They will also install a small tasting bar to offer samples of rotating daily draft beer and wine selections. Please join us in welcoming Jen and Collin of The Barrel and Bottle to the North Market.

Gary Robinette and his wife Brooke Howell-Robinette of Clever Crow Pizza have recently signed a lease to offer their handmade cornbread crust pizzas as the newest North Market specialty. These distinctive pizzas begin with a base crust of cornmeal that is made from 100% organic Ohio sweet corn milled on location by Carl Stutzman of Stutzman Farms. The hearty, crispy crust supports the amazing and abundant toppings that are available including roasted vegetables, house-made sausages, cured meats and local artisan cheeses. The pizzas are inspired by the bounty of the local farmers markets and Clever Crow Pizza seeks to use predominantly local, seasonal and handcrafted ingredients. Gary and Brooke pickle and can the fresh local vegetables used and they smoke and cure their own charcuterie meats as well.

Pizza will be available for dine in service, carry out and take and bake. In addition to 25 weekly changing specialty pizzas the Clever Crow Pizza will offer salads and seasonal tarts. Ultimately Gary and Brooke intend to offer hand packed and canned versions of their house made pickled vegetables and deli wrapped portions of their house cured meats as well. The Clever Crow Pizza was featured on an episode of the Travel Channel’s No Reservations this spring. North Market recognizes a great locally made product just as Anthony Bourdain did on his visit to Columbus and welcomes Clever Crow Pizza to the merchant family.

Lan T. Pham and husband Thanh T. Le have purchased Lac Viet Market from Thang Nguyen. Thang will still be in the food business but his focus will be on his Bethel Road restaurant. While the restaurant has undergone a subtle name shift to Lan Viet Market, the overall concept will remain the same. Lan Viet Market will continue to serve high quality, affordable, healthy and authentic Vietnamese food and provide friendly, family business-oriented service. It is a formula that has served the business well for more than six years and we wish Lan and Thanh continued success and many satisfied new and returning customers!

While the Market was disappointed by the loss of Barry’s New York Deli, the vacated space offered an opportunity to Dareen Wearstler to combine both of her North Market businesses, Better Earth General Store and Better Earth’s Beyond Beads into one dynamic location. You can now find all of your environmentally conscious cleaning supplies, earth-friendly bath and body products, locally handcrafted art, jewelry, gift items and a little bit of everything on the east aisle across from North Market Cookware. The former Better Earth space gave Pam’s Market Popcorn a little more room for her popcorn empire and you can now find Pam Tylka happily popping up her favorite flavors on the west aisle between Taste of Belgium and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. The Clever Crow Pizza will ultimately occupy the space on the southeast aisle where Pam’s Market Popcorn used to be. Did you follow all of those chess moves? Why not stop by the market and reorient yourself and give our new tenants a warm welcome?!