July 16th, 2013—Monterey’s soon-to-open Wharf Marketplace is promising to be a one-stop shopping opportunity for local foodies looking for groceries that are fresh, local, artisanal and seasonal.
In fact, starting with its soft opening on Aug. 1, the store will be Monterey’s first permanent market committing itself to selling almost entirely produce that is in season. As a result, locavore customers can be assured that nearly anything they purchase is at its seasonal best and has not spent days being shipped across the country—or even the world.
“You’re not going to come in here in December and see cantaloupes,” says Rick Antle, CEO of Marketplace owner Tanimura & Antle, who in a hardhat tour of what was still a construction zone on July 11, was brimming with excitement about the Marketplace’s mission to serve the community by bringing the best of the region’s healthful and delicious foods to Peninsula consumers.
What customers can expect, Antle and the market’s general manger Brant Good disclosed to visitors on the tour, is a surprisingly broad array of fresh food and pantry items given the tight 3,700 square footprint of the historic Standard Pacific railway station that will house it.
Aside from being focused on seasonality, the owners are also devoted to selling almost completely local, and when possible, organic products.
Specialties of Tanimura & Antle, like lettuce, will of course come from the Salinas grower’s own farms. But the partial list of vendors released last week includes local food artisans of all kinds, including Seaside roastery Acme Coffee, Moss Landing vegetarian prepared food specialist Sweet Earth Natural Foods, Salinas aged raw milk cheese maker Schoch Family Farmstead, Pacific Grove pickle and jam maker Happy Girl Kitchen Co., and Monterey smoker extraordinaire Baker’s Bacon.
The market will also provide sandwiches, salads and other freshly prepared foods (after all Good is the former head chef at Monterey’s Sardine Factory), sometimes tied to community events like the upcoming Greek Festival. It will also provide the produce of several other growers such as Natureripe, Far West Fungi and Mashita Farms.
The market will be open 7 to 7 daily, except on Tuesday, when it will close at 2:00 so as not to compete with the city’s Alvarado Street farmers market.
Wharf Marketplace • 290 Figueroa St. Monterey, at the foot of Wharf No. 2 • 831.261.8807
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
