Union Street Market today announced four new businesses for the year-round, indoor food market at Electric Works, bringing the total to 12.
“The selection of these new merchants marks an important milestone – the Market has filled half of the available spaces,” said Ted Spitzer, Union Street Market’s director of planning and development. “These diverse businesses show the breadth of what the Market will offer, from farm fresh fruits and vegetables to hot BBQ and Middle Eastern foods to a full-service bar with inventive cocktails and a wide range of Indiana spirits and beers on tap.”
The four businesses announced today include:
- Narrow Road Farm uses nature-based, regenerative farming methods to grow a wide range of high-quality produce at their farm in Auburn, Indiana. “Our farming practices result in the highest nutrient fruits and vegetables, which will be sold within hours of harvest at the Market for peak flavor,” said owner Tadd Petersen. “During the colder months, we continue growing within high tunnels, which allow us to extend the season and bring fresh produce to market year-round.” Narrow Road Farm will offer pork from their stock of all-natural grazing pigs and farmstand products such as eggs and dairy. Salads, wraps, and juices from farm-fresh ingredients provide opportunities to enjoy Narrow Road’s bounty in the Market.
- Brooks BBQ & Chicken launched in 1966 as the first Black-owned barbecue restaurant in Fort Wayne and a forerunner to today’s food trucks, bringing lunches to workers at the General Electric factory. Now the fourth-generation owner Cameron Brooks continues to use his great-grandmother’s recipes to make award-winning sauces and lovingly charcoal-grilled ribs, turkey tips and fried chicken dipped in their famous vinegar BBQ sauce, and favorite soulful sides like greens, mac-and-cheese and baked beans. “Coming to Union Street Market is full-circle for me, continuing my family’s incredible legacy of offering the most succulent BBQ to the entire Fort Wayne community,” said Brooks.
- Holy Ladle features the epicurean passions of Holly Sutter, whose culinary journey has taken her from Fort Wayne to Pakistan, India, and multiple points in-between as she has learned to harness the healing powers of food and create delicious offerings as a personal chef, caterer, and restaurateur. “Holy Ladle represents the culmination of what I have learned about how food can nourish and heal,” Sutter said. “At Union Street Market, I will offer a rotating selection of inspired Middle Eastern dishes from chicken kebabs to hearty stews to Persian Love Cake, as well as herbal elixirs and chai teas.”
- The Charlie Horse bar is the brainchild of mother-and-son team Cristy and Ben Shank, who turned an old horse trailer into the popular Charlie Horse mobile bar, which has been a hit at weddings and events throughout Fort Wayne. As owner-operators of Flashback Live nightclub and Events By YOLO, Cristy and Ben know how to make their customers happy. “The Charlie Horse will feature innovative cocktails using fresh ingredients from the Market plus a broad selection of Indiana beers on-tap and award-winning Indiana distilled spirits,” said Cristy Shank. “The bar’s central position within the Market makes it a perfect gathering spot for visitors to the Market. We want to make sure they have great drinks to go along with all the incredible food.”
According to Robert Johnson, Union Street Market’s local leasing coordinator, interest in space in the Market keeps growing. “Over the past several weeks, we have gotten inquiries from food entrepreneurs throughout Indiana,” Johnson said. “We continue to curate a diverse range of food businesses that will make visiting the Market an unforgettable culinary experience.”
Union Street Market is on schedule to open in October 2022. Food entrepreneurs interested in more information about leasing opportunities are encouraged to visit www.unionstreetmarket.org.