Slide Show: Inside Local Choice Produce Market
January 14, 2013
The vast majority of the space is devoted to produce, selected by veteran Portland fresh foods manager Gary Talarico. The market's open seating space will host winemaker, teamaker, rancher, and farmer dinners throughout the year.
The meat department stocks only locally-raised animals, with custom cuts and meat ground to order, and wild, local seafood that's never farm-raised or frozen. Photographs behind the butcher's counter and throughout the store were selected from the photo
The Local Choice dairy department offers local artisan cheese, local beer, milk, butter, and frozen foods like pints of Salt & Straw ice cream.
The deli offers a full menu of made-in-house soups, salads, cold and hot sandwiches, and take-out prepared foods in addition to cheeses and meats.
The coffee bar brews Coava Coffee Roasters beans and Steven Smith Teamaker teas.
The "Farmatherapy" bar aims to bring smoothies and juice to a new level, with a menu designed by Nature Cures Clinic Naturopathic doctor Greg Eckel and nutritionist Maria Zilka.
The Local Choice coffee counter offers sweet and savory goods from Bakeshop, Gabriel's Bakery, Fleur de Lis, Tula Gluten Free Bakery, Petunia's Pies and Pastries, and the market's own in-house kitchen.
The wine and beer department offers brews and bottles from Oregon and Washington, allowing more shelf space for local wine producers than most markets in town.
The Beer & Wine bar will offer a daily happy hour (with $5 glasses of wine from 4 pm to close) with four beers and four wines on tap.
The market's eight roll-up doors will allow outside produce displays and open-air browsing, and the Sader family isn't going to wait until summer. If it's now snowing or blowing rain, the doors will be open, so bring a coat.
Inspired by NYC's Eataly, the produce section is home to a "Produce Kitchen" with staff happy to answer questions or prep fresh produce for you while you wait.
The market's 10,000 square feet doesn't leave much room for aisle after aisle of processed foods, but a small selection of artisan products from local craftsmen and women populate displays throughout the store.
