Market To Bring a Cafe and Grocery Store Downtown

It's not quite the restaurant/upscale grocery store/caffé lounge some might have hoped for, nor is it the large-scale grocery store downtown actually needs, but Market will try and meet you somewhere in the middle.

As Eater Vegas has been tracking for months, the former Mamita's Mexican & Cuban Food restaurant and the shuttered Fremont Family Market will be turned in a deli and market with a coffee shop at the front leading to a fenced off patio that sits right on Fremont. With an eye toward pricier items to take home, the cafe will be serving up meals, sandwiches, sweet snacks and espresso, all with a view of Fremont East.

Market [Photo: Bradley Martin]

Recent work on the 6,448-square-foot interior has stripped it barren to the floor. Originally pitched as including a restaurant, a word still used in current paperwork, the majority of the space is given over to the store. On entering, visitors will encounter a "green wall" hiding the shopping carts. Produce lines the walls, with four shelving units in the middle hosting dry goods. A salad bar and chilled goods sit in the center of the rectangular room, close to a "wine box display." Freezers are positioned at the rear, close to refrigerated storage for beer, wine and deli goods.

The east side of Market is taken over by to the coffee shop. Grab and go items are a main feature here. There is a charcuterie, prepared food case, baked good and bread section and gelato. An espresso machine is also being installed.

Current plans have room for 28 chairs, whether sitting at the counter, on high tops, or by the window. The 200-square-foot patio has penciled in room for 15. The emphasis is on natural and organic foods alongside traditional staples and impulse items.

Working plans call for Market to be open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m and extended to midnight on the weekends. The exterior transformation will include a lattice wall filled with vines and greenery. A slotted, vertical wood design covers much of the frontage and the Market name will be lit by signs on the front and side of the building. The east side of the store facing the existing car park will be given a new brick-face finish, seemingly preventing future art murals.

The project is operated by the Downtown Project, but the building is owned by local businessman Richard Sturman and his company, Encryptic LLC. A "winter 2014" opening date was suggested last month.
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