Students wanting to add more culture to their lives need look no further than Spruce Street.
Nestled in the midst of downtown Columbus’ towering office buildings sits a warehouse. Under its green roof and red sign awaits a virtual treasure trove of worldly goods yet to be explored by the average Ohio State student.
Located at 59 Spruce St., the North Market has been offering a fresh experience since 1876, and a place for food, people and shopping to come together that is different from conventional supermarkets.
Spruce Street began serving as the market’s home 10 years ago. It is the third building to house the market.
“The original building was at 29 Spruce St.,” Martineau said. “It burned down in 1948.”
The second location of the market was an airline-hangar style building, which it left in 1995 for the market’s current location, Martineau said.
“There’s probably about 13 (stands) that are from the other market,” she said. “All the people very much so have a love and a passion for what they do.”
With 35 stands, the market is at full capacity.
“They’re all someone’s vision of what they want to provide for people,” Martineau said. “You’re talking to people who are so familiar with the product because they helped to raise it or prepared it by hand this morning from scratch. It’s fresh, high-quality local food. I think that’s what makes the market special, the quality of the food and the quality of the people here.”
At Grapes of Mirth, owned by David Bihn, customers can find just about any domestic or international beer or wine they can imagine. Rows upon rows of dark bottles with brightly colored labels fill the stand from top to bottom.
The perfume of fresh flowers saturates the space around Market Blooms, owned by Marty McGreevy. Its lime green signs advertise the freshest flowers in town. A display near the market isle holds bouquets wrapped in white paper, ranging from $5 to $10.
Ann Leonard has been with the market since 1979.
“I inherited my grandparents poultry business,” Leonard said. “That’s how I originally got into the market. There were two young women that opened up A Touch of Earth right across from my poultry stand. When they sold, I bought part of the business.”
When the market moved to its current location, Leonard bought out her partner. She now owns the stand completely. It offers candy, dried fruit and coffee among other things.
“I love the city market,” she said. “I love the people that you meet, the interaction.”
The smells of cuisines from distant lands hang in the open air of the market. Indian spices fill the nostrils, reminding patrons that food is available to eat, not just buy.
“The market has evolved here from being strictly the eggs, the fish, the poultry, the cheese, the bakery to also carrying a lot of ethnic and prepared foods,” Martineau said.
Stands offer everything from traditional to ethnic foods in various stages of preparation.
Lindsey Johnson, a freshman in psychology, visited North Market for the first time this week.
“There’s a lot of choices,” Johnson said. “Everything looks really good.”
Johnson said the market offered a different food selection than she normally finds on campus.
“I get delivery a lot, and there’s usually not this large of a selection,” she said. “It’s just a wider variety instead of fast food and pizza all the time.”
For students like Johnson, who do not have a car, the market is a COTA bus ride away.
North Market is central Ohio’s only remaining public market.
The market is open six days per week. It has select business hours on Mondays.
“It’s sort of a part of the fabric of Columbus,” Martineau said. “It’s been here for 130 years. The market is like an incubator for small businesses. We’re sort of the center for culinary life in Columbus.”
