North Market Welcomes New Merchants and Familiar Merchants in New Places
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?!
