![]() ![]() The mix of tenants that have joined the project so far offer a wide variety of food and drinks, but each are locally owned. “It has always been our dream to impact the food scene in Albuquerque in a positive way, and to somehow be part of the bigger picture and upward movement among our local food community,” she wrote. ![]() Lauren Greene wrote in an email that she felt the same type of inspiration when she walked into Sawmill Market with Long that she originally felt when she saw the up-and-coming neighborhood that gave rise to Grove Cafe. ![]() To help achieve the vision, Long also enlisted the help of Jason and Lauren Greene, the husband-and-wife team behind Grove Cafe & Market in East Downtown. “Every eatery and food experience will be unique and different,” Long said.Ī rendering shows the planned flexible interior of what is expected to be Albuquerque’s first ‘food hall,’ a community and even city community gathering spot as envisioned by the developers. After visiting food halls in other parts of the country, he decided he wanted to bring one to Albuquerque. Long, who has developed a number of hotels and resorts across New Mexico, including the Hotel Chaco across the street from the building that will house Sawmill Market, said he’s been looking to add a unique food experience nearby for years. The new development will help anchor the Sawmill District, north of Old Town. This architect’s rendering shows the expected exterior look of Jim Long’s Sawmill Market, a 34,000-square-foot food hall, that is slated to open next February. “Markets tend to be the center of town, and they do tend to reflect the food of their local population,” Carlin said. The newer food halls tend to feature a wide variety of prepared food.Ĭarlin characterized the Sawmill Market as a “hybrid” of the two approaches, acknowledging that legacy markets have developed over the course of decades, but adding that the vision for Sawmill Market will include community activities and local food. Several of these legacy markets, including Seattle’s Pike Place Market and Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, are still popular today.Ĭarlin added that a new generation of food halls, including the Denver Central Market and the Oxbow, have popped up in American cities in recent years. Steve Carlin, an advisor on the Sawmill District who helped develop the Oxbow Public Market in Napa, California, said many American cities historically had terminal markets where produce from the surrounding area was centralized, making it possible for buyers to purchase a variety of produce without visiting each individual farm. “They really provide a fantastic opportunity for socialization as well as entertainment.”įood halls and markets may be new to Albuquerque, but they’re well established in other parts of the country and world. “I think markets are really community gathering spaces,” Long said. The $24 million project is a massive undertaking, but developer Jim Long told the Journal it has the potential to become not only the center of a planned mixed-use district north of Old Town, but also a community hub for the entire city.įood hall concept Seen in its former life as the Paxton lumber business, this building is being transformed to house Sawmill Market. Field Goods Kitchen, Plata Coffee, Eldora Chocolate, and a new concept titled Mercantile Cafe & Wine Bar – that eventually will be joined by around 20 other food and beverage producers at the new 34,000-square-foot market. The market, expected to be New Mexico’s first food hall when it opens, announced its first four tenants. ![]() Today, one of the largest remaining buildings from the district, a blue-and-white building on Bellamah that once housed Frank Paxton Lumber Co.’s Albuquerque operations, is surrounded by scaffolding, as it undergoes a massive transformation into Sawmill Market. In the early 20th century, Albuquerque’s vibrant timber industry was quartered in a neighborhood just north of Old Town, where lumber products were sourced and sold across the West. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal)Įditor’s note: this story has been updated to reflect that Aaron Ketner is an intern architect Preliminary construction of Sawmill Market is underway for the mixed-use development that will include Albuquerque’s first food hall. ![]()
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