Market Restaurant expands to Calgary Farmers' Market

In these days of economic unpredictability, many independently owned restaurants are cutting back, slimming their menus and trimming their prices in an attempt to woo customers.

The owners of Market have taken a different approach.

The seasonally-focused restaurant on 17th Avenue, which won the title Restaurant of the Year at Tourism Calgary's White Hat Awards in 2015, has just expanded into a small space in the Calgary Farmers' Market.

"I knew I wanted to have a restaurant ever since I was like, six," said owner Vanessa Salopek, who opened Market with her parents Janet and John Salopek as silent partners in 2013. 

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"My grandpa owned a cattle ranch out in the Ottawa valley. I spent my summers there helping out on the ranch, so I developed a passion for farm life and sustainable living," Salopek said. 

Not able to cook, Salopek got into the industry at 15 bussing tables and being a hostess, then focused on the marketing and business side of things.

She earned her degree at the University of Calgary and landed a position as director of marketing for Boston Pizza. 

"I needed credibility on my resume," she said. 

"They know how to run a profitable restaurant, so I took the knowledge I accumulated there and applied it to something I was passionate about, which is Market."

Everything made from scratch

At Market, the focus is on locally sourced seasonal ingredients.

They bake their own breads daily, butcher and cure their own meats, make their own cheese and grow their own herbs and microgreens.

Market was the first restaurant in Calgary to use an Urban Cultivator to grow more than 16 different varieties of heirloom seeds year-round.

Everything is made from scratch, from their hot sauce to the soda syrups they use behind the bar.

"We were getting a ton of requests for our signature items," Salopek said.

"People were like, 'Can I jar this and take it home?'"

Requests for aiolis, sauces and chocolates by the box made them realize they had the potential for another revenue stream. 

Bridging the farm-to-table gap

"We took a look at the Calgary Farmers' Market, which is our demographic, with 20,000 people a week coming through. In this economy you gotta keep your name out there," Salopek said.

"You have to be relevant, especially with so many great restaurants, you have to stay top of mind. So this is one way to remind people." 

Their new space at the CFM further bridges the gap between farm and table, providing the opportunity to talk directly to like-minded visitors about their menu and philosophy at Market. Guests can even make reservations.

Of course, they get to sell the goodies they make at the restaurant, like their own soda syrups, including cola, root beer, ginger ale, cream soda, orange cream and tonic.

"We don't sell Coke or Pepsi products at Market," Salopek said. "We make everything from scratch, even our sodas."

Watch the experts at work

Shelves at the farmers' market are lined with bottles of their own hot sauce, red and white pickled carrots, house-made ketchup, garlic and truffle aioli, and down the road you may see jars of their gnocchi Romano sauce.

But people are drawn in by the display of stunning handmade chocolates, each uniquely hand-painted with colourful cocoa butter.

Market has been making chocolates since the very beginning, and they're now creating their jewel-like confections by hand right at the market so passers-by can stop and watch the process.

The chocolates are made with seasonal products sourced from other vendors at the farmers' market and include pears, rhubarbs, and even kale. The stems are steeped with white chocolate to make a creamy green (and surprisingly delicious) filling.

Besides providing an opportunity to connect directly with a broader audience and having some fun, the hope is that the new market location of Market will help the restaurant through some potentially turbulent economic times. 

"It's a family-owned business — just my mom, dad and I," Salopek said. "This is going to help us weather the storm."