'It's huge': Will Louisville's Logan Street be the next Findlay or Pike Place market? (2024)

'It's huge': Will Louisville's Logan Street be the next Findlay or Pike Place market? (1)
  • What:The public market is owned by Mike and Medora Safai, the founders of Safai Coffee Company.
  • Where:1001 Logan St. in the Shelby Park neighborhood
  • When:Expected to open in July. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
  • More info:Visitloganstmarket.com

Inside a former tobacco warehouse, south of downtown Louisville, an epicenter for local food is taking shape.

Windows have been cut into the building's metal walls. Amezzanine floor now jutsintoonce open space. Barn doors have been hung at multiple new entry points. Soon, they'll open into a "fresh air hall," where stands of produce will greet customers from both near and far.

There's still a lot to get done at the Logan Street Market. But after two years of planning and delays, the year-round marketplace is finally on its way to an October opening date.

More than30 vendors are expected to start selling their products at thepublic market on theedge of the Shelby Park and Smoketown neighborhoods.

There will be a butcher, a fish stall, a spice stand and a cheese shop.

There will be four restaurants where customers can grab lunch while shopping and a row of boutiques where they can find locally made goods.

There will be weekly farmers markets and free cooking classes, community events and an art gallery.

There will be a new place to buy groceries within an area that desperately needs it — anda new place for Louisville's diverse culturesto gather under oneroof.

"I think that these public markets are the perfect example of local food culture," said Sarah Height, market director for Logan Street Market.

"I think (this market is)huge. You can quote me on that. I think it’s huge."

Read this:Louisville's vacant grocery stores find new tenants. But they won't sell food

How the market got here

Mike and Medora Safai first floated their idea for apublic market in Louisville in early 2017.

The couple had just moved their coffee company's offices and roasting operation intothe former Axton Candy and Tobacco building at 1001 Logan St. But the equipment took up only a small portion of the vacant warehouse— leaving quite a bit of unused space.

The Safais were familiar with the Findlay Market in Cincinnati, which hadhelped sparkreinvestment in Over-the-Rhine, a once-diminishing neighborhood. They wondered if a market could do the same for Shelby Park.

Over the past several decades, rashes of violent crimes and an abundance of abandoned properties had discouraged new residents from moving into the Louisville neighborhood. Average household incomes had stalled under $22,000. And few businesses were finding success in the area.

Check out:Your complete guide to Louisville's Logan Street Market with 25+ vendors and restaurants

'It's huge': Will Louisville's Logan Street be the next Findlay or Pike Place market? (2)

Gradually, however, the neighborhood began making a comeback. In 2013, investment group Access Ventures opened an office on Shelby Street, where it quickly began restoring residential and commercial properties. The group attracted Scarlet's Bakery, 741 E. Oak St., and Good Folks Coffee,1151 S. South Shelby St., to its renovated buildings. Soon, other businesses began following suit.

Since 2017, Great Flood Brewing has opened a production facility on Bergam Street; Studio Kremer architectsmoved into the former Floor Store on Shelby Street; and two more businesses— Red Top Hotdogs and the Tim Faulkner Gallery— have popped up on Logan Street.

A strong neighborhood association has worked to improve Shelby Park by painting murals, planting trees and helping restore vacant homes. And a number of nonprofits have expanded services to support those who need a leg up.

"I always thought the neighborhood had potential," said Drew Case, a partner at Idlewild Butterfly Farm, across from the market on Logan Street."Now we’re seeing that."

Mike and Medora Safai have seen the potential, too.

Shortly after moving into the warehouse, they solicited renderings for what a public market could look like. They took their ideas to neighborhood association meetingsand spent the last two years building relationships within the community.

Increased steel prices and permitting delays pushed the market past its initial estimated cost and opening date, making many wonder if the plans would ever happen. But the Safais have never wavered from their commitment to Shelby Park. By the time the market opens, they'll have invested approximately $1.6 million in the project.

Previously:Louisville's first public market to open in Shelby Park in October

"We didn't open when we said we were going to," market director Height said. "But it allowed it to be more organic, we made a lot more connections with people, more relationships with nonprofits and vendors. It happens when it should happen."

Idlewild's Case said he expects property values and tax assessments to rise with the opening of the market.

But he also hopes the new business helps more people realize the positive qualities of Shelby Park.

"I hope people come here and realize what they probably thought about Shelby Park is not true," Case said. "It's not a scary place that I know some people might think. It's not that at all."

How it will serve Shelby Park

Shelby Park residents who have never visited a public market still aren't entirely sure what to expect. But they agree that having a new place to get groceries will be good for the community.

In October, the neighborhood's only grocery store closed with little warning, leaving the area with just one full-service store to serve than 9,000 people, according to census estimates for Shelby Park, Smoketown, Germantown and Schnitzelburg.

"Of course it'll be a benefit to the neighborhood," said Jay C., who lives on Ormsby Avenue. "... Especially for people who may not be mobile, who don't have transportation to get around. It'll be a nice place to have to walk to."

To serve the surrounding communities, Logan Street Market is opening The Bodega, a small shop that will sell produce, staple foods, toiletries and other items not available at the vendors' stalls.

See also:Kentucky's hunger initiative earns attention. But thousands still need food

'It's huge': Will Louisville's Logan Street be the next Findlay or Pike Place market? (3)

Sean Reynolds, owner of the now-closed Reynolds Grocery, will run the shop.

"We're aware that some local products and some boutique products can be more expensive," Reynolds said. "... We'll have a little bit of everything for what people might need and to supplement the market."

The Bodega will accept EBT payments from people who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It will also offer the Double Dollars program, which matches SNAP dollars that someone spends at the shop.

"From what we've seen from all these public markets, you can come in here and spend $10 or you can come in here and spend $100," Height said.

"That's part of the reason we decided to do The Bodega ourselves. We can at least control the price of some produce. We're going to do some local, organic produce, which is naturally more expensive. But we'll do some conventional produce that we can price very affordably."

Read this:How these companies are helping employees buy affordable fresh produce

How it will serve Louisville

Logan Street Market, of course, will be a place for everyone. Incities nationwide, public markets have become microcosms of the community at large — must-visit destinations for both locals and tourists in search of a unique fare.

At Cincinnati's Findlay Market, more than 1.2 million people annually visit the stalls, farmers market and surrounding businesses, purchasing items, attending events or just meeting friends in the historic space.

The Logan Street Market hopes to attract 750,000 people annually, according to a fact sheet provided by Height.

That's a lot of new business for entrepreneurs like David Wright, a commercial fisherman; Brent Mills, a cheese specialist; and Sasha Chack, a caterer who serves kosher food.

For the past seven years, Wright has sold fish at local farmers markets and on his website, St. Brendan's Seafood. His business has grown with each market season, but high overhead expenses have always prevented him from opening his own shop.

At the market, Wright will have a stall with refrigerated units to stock items like wild-caught salmon, mussels, clams, Oregon pink shrimp, halibut and cod.

'It's huge': Will Louisville's Logan Street be the next Findlay or Pike Place market? (4)

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"I'm so grateful to Mike Safai, who is kind of a mentor to me," Wright said. "Just to be part of their vision is really special to me. I'm super honored to have a fishery in there."

For Mills, the market also presents an opportunity for a new shop.

The Australian native has spent years in the restaurant industry, working as an executive chef and cheese purchaser for restaurants from Louisville to New York.

He and his wife, Ashley Urjil-Mills, have dreamed of opening a European-style cheese shop, and at the market, they'll finally launch their own business asHarvey's Cheese.

The Mills' stall will sell fresh-cut cheeses from both local and national producers, along with charcuterie such as country ham.

Mills said he hopes to make some of his own cheeses, like mozzarella and burrata. And he'll have some daily specials like pasta served out of a cheese wheel.

Mills, Wright and other vendors said they see the market as an opportunity for the city to up its local food game, showing the diversity and talent that Louisville has to offer.

"I see it only as a positive for Louisville to stay progressive and stay on the edge on how we think about food and where we spend our time, what we do as far as connecting with each other and the world outside," Wright said. "That's all really important, and this place will kind of foster that."

Bailey Loosemore: 502-582-4646; bloosemore@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/baileyl.

Logan Street Market

What:The public market is owned by Mike and Medora Safai, the founders of Safai Coffee Company.

Where:1001 Logan St. in the Shelby Park neighborhood

When:Hours will be 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday

Special events:

  • Farmers markets will take place from10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays
  • A Fresh Stop Marketwill set up from 4:30-6:30 p.m. every other Tuesday from June through October. Shares of produce are sold at the market on a sliding pay scale. Sign up for a share atnewroots.org.
  • Dare to Care will offer its Cooking Matters classes at the market. Learn more atdaretocare.org.

Parking and transportation:

  • Free street parking is available on Logan Street and, unless closed for thefarmers market,East St. Catherine Street.
  • Overflow parking is available in a former gas station lot, catercorner to the marketat the intersection of Kentucky and Logan streets.
  • TARC route43 stops directly in front of the market. Route 25 stops nearby at the intersection of Logan and Mary streets.
  • Bicycle racks will be available.

More info:Visitloganstmarket.com

'It's huge': Will Louisville's Logan Street be the next Findlay or Pike Place market? (2024)

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