Well Fed On the Town

Last weekend, my wife and I took a short drive to Columbus, Ohio. One of the places we visited was the North Market, as 59 Spruce Street, just north of downtown and near the convention center.

Columbus originally had 4 markets: central, east, west and north, and the North Market is the only one remaining. The current location is a great warehouse, and several years of revitalizing the market has produced a nice neighborhood with the market (including a farmers market from April into November), several vendors within the market, and restaurants in the area. The farmers market features a variety of local orchards and farms.

Another nice thing about this area in Columbus is what’s called the Short North, just a couple of blocks away from the North Market. The Short North is made up of art galleries and bars.

Prior to 1876, the North Market was held at Columbus’s North Cemetery. The market actually burned down in 1948, and the city planned on not rebuilding, but the merchants pooled their money and had it rebuilt. During the 1980’s, with the resurgence of interest in local markets, the North Market came back alive, and is currently in the Advanced Thresher warehouse, which was a turn of the century storage facility for farming equipment. it seems kind of fitting, doesn’t it?

Okay, enough boring history. This is just a fun market, with lots of variety in vendors. Some vendors serve meals and sandwiches, while some are meat and seafood markets, coffee shops, florists, and even a kitchen gadget vendor. The food ranges from an authentic New York style deli to Middle Eastern, Thai, Indian… And to top it off, Jeni’s Fresh Ice Creams, artisanal ice creams, yea!

In the current push to eat local foods, farmers markets and smaller merchants can be a great way to find foods that are raised and grown in the area instead of mass produced… If you’re in Columbus, the North Market is as good as it gets.

The North Market

59 Spruce Street

Columbus, Ohio 43215