By Bruce Rutledge
For the first time in 40 years, Pike Place Market is expanding. The new MarketFront is set to open on June 29 with stunning views of Mount Rainier, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
Vendors have already started selling crafts and food in the new structure. A chocolate maker, two restaurants and a brewery will open their doors at the end of this month. The structure includes 30,000 square feet of public space, a pavilion for 47 farm and craft vendors, 40 low-income senior apartment units, 300 new parking spaces, several public art installations and the following stores:
Old Stove Brewing Co., a gastropub that brews its beers on site. Old Stove will feature 20 house made rotating beers and a pub menu using locally sourced ingredients served inside a space with an 80-foot window-wall looking out at Elliott Bay.
Little Fish, a new venture of restaurateur Bryan Jarr and chef Zoi Antonitsas, will serve house- cured, salted, smoked and canned fish and other seafood in traditional Basque, Jewish, Native American, Scandinavian and Japanese dishes. Visitors will be able to watch the canning, curing, salting and smoking on site.
Honest Biscuits, where head baker Art Stone replicates the biscuits of his North Carolina grandmother and serves with fried chicken, bacon, sausage, Northwest vegan gravy and other combinations, many of which use ingredients from the Market.
Finally, indi chocolate will open a chocolate factory and serve house- made desserts such as s’mores, Belgian waffles drizzled in chocolate sauce, and bars infused with local berries, hazelnuts and dried fruits. Owner Erin Andrews’ specialty is bean-to-bar chocolate sourced from Central America.
Opening ceremonies will kick off on June 29 at 2pm. The MarketFront is located at 1901 Western Avenue.
