A Market Improvement

Louisville has a vibrant food and beverage scene that in recent years has expanded and grown more diverse. The city is home to a large number of independently owned restaurants, offering a wide selection of cuisines. There are currently 23 farmers’ markets around town, selling quality local produce from April through October. Louisville food trucks have also blossomed in recent years, with numerous trucks offering an intriguing variety of street food, from sushi to s’mores.

Despite its strong food culture, Louisville has not had a public market, until now.

The Logan Street Market will provide a carefully curated mix of counter-service restaurants, food and beverage retail businesses, produce vendors, and several unique art and craft shops. It will also serve as a community gathering space and a center for food and nutrition education.

Located at the corner of Logan and Kentucky streets, the Market is ideally situated on the edge of four busy neighborhoods—Germantown, Paristown, Smoketown and Shelby Park—and is just a few blocks from Downtown. This area is rapidly changing, with new businesses such as the Tim Faulkner Gallery across the street and the Idlewild Butterfly Farm down the block.

Mike Safai, owner of Safai Coffee on Bardstown Road, purchased the Logan Street property two years ago as a home for his coffee roasting, grinding and packaging operations, and as a spot for his Wild Hops Brewery. However, reflecting on the fact that Louisville does not have a public market such as those in other cities, he decided to use the space to create the Logan Street Market.

Safai was especially inspired by Findlay Market, which is the food hub for Cincinnati. Much more than just being purveyors of foods, public markets are places of community sharing and innovation. Safai said his vision is to “create a space for local fresh food, nutrition education and community engagement.”

The 25,000-square-foot Logan Street Market space will be anchored by an on-site brewery called Wild Hops, owned by Safai and run by his staff. The brewing area will be open to public view, with large shiny tanks creating an exciting backdrop for the bar. Next to the brewery will be Safai’s coffee bar, which will serve his coffees alongside a selection of cocktails.

The Logan Street side of the building will have sliding wood barn doors that can be opened, when the weather is pleasant, to allow easy neighborhood access. There will be a total of 38 vendors; some will be well-known, established Louisville businesses, while others will be relatively new ventures. These will include four counter-service restaurants, offering a sampling of cuisines from different parts of the world.

Nahyla and Nelson Michelangeli, chefs from Venezuela who previously owned Nahyla’s Kitchen in Middletown, will open Nelson and Nahyla’s Kitchen. They will serve a selection of arepas, corn pancakes that can be filled or topped with a variety of items, such as chicken, chorizo, guacamole or cheese. Alongside the arepas, they will offer other beloved typical dishes from Venezuela.

Chef Bapion Ziba, at his Ziba’s Bistro, will provide a variety of delicacies inspired by his Burkina Faso roots, influenced by his French, Italian and American experiences. One of his signature items will be tiguedigue chicken, with vegetables and chicken coated in a savory sauce made of ground peanuts, served over basmati rice. Ziba said, “As an immigrant, I grew up around large markets that have restaurants, sell fresh produce and have local crafts, so it is exciting for me to be a part of this realization in Louisville; and I think it will be a concept that the Louisville community will embrace.”

Jeff Brantley, currently a chef at the hip bar and eatery Gralehaus, will be opening a restaurant called Bramble. He will draw on his Georgian roots, offering a Southern menu with small plates and salads, as well as traditional “meat and three” plate lunches, which will include a protein, three sides and bread.

The Market will also offer a large selection of retail food, beverage and dry goods vendors, providing a variety of scrumptious treats. Madeleine Dee, owner of Fond of Kentucky, a successful gourmet foods retail store and prix fixe dinner and brunch spot on Frankfort Avenue, will expand her business operations to the Market.

Dee’s Fond Originals store will be selling a variety of gourmet-to-go items such as fig pizzas, risotto cakes, quiches, and jams. Dee will also be carrying some of her favorite local products at her booth, such as Hosey’s Kentucky Honey and Art Eatables chocolates. Dee said of the Market, “I can’t think of a better way to welcome those who want to experience our fantastic city than by giving them an opportunity to meet and support our most promising producers, farmers and artisans.”

Frequently seen selling their delicious treats at area farmers’ markets, Louisville- based Georgia’s Sweet Potato Pie Company will have a Logan Street Market booth. They will be offering a variety of sweet-potato-based baked goods, such as vegan sweet potato mini pies, chocolate chip sweet potato muffins and sweet potato cake with caramel icing.

Susan Hershberg will be opening a location of her popular Wiltshire Pantry at the Market, offering their signature selection of European-style pastries, including butter croissants and pain au chocolat, as well as favorites such as jumbo cookies and hand pies. They will also be selling their artisan breads made with freshly milled non-GMO grains. Depending on customer demand, they plan to offer breakfast and lunch as well, featuring their housemade breads, soups and salads made with locally sourced premium ingredients.

Bourbon Barrel Foods, which currently has a retail location on Frankfort Avenue, will be selling a collection of unique sauces, spice blends, foods that celebrate bourbon, and cooking and bar tools at their Market booth. Colonel De Gourmet Herbs and Spices shop, which has a space in Findlay market in Cincinatti, will be selling salts, spices, herbs and teas as bulk foods that can be purchased in any quantity.

Hawthorn Supply will have a space at the Market, offering a selection of quality barware, such as unique glassware, custom- designed paper straws, professional bar tools and instructional books.

Based in Taylorsville, Stonecross Meats will be providing local meat products including pork, beef, chicken and lamb, plus sausages such as bratwurst, chorizo and andouille. They will also be selling raw-milk, handcrafted, artisanal aged cheeses under the brand name of Cloverdale Creamery, such as old-style Colby, Monterey Jack and Jack Pepper. St. Brendan’s Reds Seafood will also have a booth with a selection of fresh-caught, wild Alaska sockeye salmon products.

Baked Louisville will fill their Market space with a variety of sweet items such as cookies, cakes, cupcakes and hand pies.

They will also have box lunches and healthy snacks provided by True North Catering.

A fresh produce area with a variety of local fruits and vegetables will likely be operated by the market staff to keep costs low for their customers. Safai’s goal is to provide high-quality food that is accessible and affordable, so they will also be accepting WIC and SNAP as payment for food items. “We want to be a place that is connecting famers to the community,” Safai said. The Market also plans to host a winter farmers’ market, giving farmers a place to sell produce year-round, which has previously not been an option in Louisville.

The back of the Logan Street Market property opens onto East St. Catherine Street, where the railroad tracks create a half-block dead-end street, a pleasant, quiet, tree-lined space. The Market plans to use this area for festivals and an outdoor farmers’ market.

In addition to being a destination for great food, Safai wants the Logan Street Market to be a space for sharing cooking knowledge and skills, enabling and encouraging people to cook and eat more meals together. Chef Madeleine Dee, embracing her role as the Market’s resident chef, will host community cooking demos in the second-floor classroom kitchen area, teaching people how to cook delicious and nutritious meals using ingredients from the Market vendors. Check out Chef Dee's recipe in this issue at the top left of this page.

Dare to Care will also bring their Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters program to the Market. Cooking Matters helps low-income families gain the skills needed make the most of their food budgets so their children get healthy, home-cooked, nutritious meals.

The Market also plans to use the demonstration kitchen space for special ticketed celebrity chef experience events, and they will also be making it available for rental for private parties.

There will also be several non-food retailers, including Hazel and Hunt, a local apparel company that prints T-shirts with clever graphics and positive messages. In addition, Farris x Marshall, a Louisville-based company that upcycles objects such as old cameras, blenders and driftwood into art lamps will be selling their unique products.

Boston’s Floral, known for the artful, modern flower arrangements they currently offer at their shop on Broadway, will have a fresh-cut flower booth. Kentucky Refugee Ministries will also have a space at the Market, which they will operate in partnership with Navigate Enterprises, a small-business microlender.

Safai is also setting up the Logan Street Market to be a gathering space with engaging events and programs. There will be a community stage that will offer entertainment, such as music performances and speakers, and a kids’ space with book readings, arts and crafts. There will be a small gallery space in the rear corner for art exhibits, which will be available for rental for private events. Mike Safai said that his goal is that the Logan Street Market will provide “social places for everybody.”

Logan Street Market committed vendors:

• Nelson and Nahyla’s Kitchen

• Ziba’s Bistro

• Bramble

• Bourbon Barrel Foods

• Colonial De’s Spices

• Fond of Kentucky

• Stonecross Meats

• St Brendan’s Reds Seafood

• Boston’s Floral

• Hazel & Hunt

• Farris x Marshall

• Kentucky Refugee Ministries

• Wiltshire Pantry

• Hawthorn Beverage Group

• Baked Louisville

www.loganstmarket.com